Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
Reports of Governing and Major Subsidiary Bodies
International Coordination Group
for the Tsunami Warning System
in the Pacific
Nineteenth Session
Wellington, New Zealand
29 September – 2 October 2003
UNESCO
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
Reports of Governing and Major Subsidiary Bodies
International Coordination Group
for the Tsunami Warning System
in the Pacific
Nineteenth Session
Wellington, New Zealand
29 September – 2 October 2003
UNESCO 2004
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Paris, 27 October 2003
Original: English∗
Abstract
The Nineteenth Session of the International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning
System in the Pacific was held in Wellington, New Zealand, from 29 September to 3
October 2003 under the Chairmanship of Dr François Schindelé. It was attended by 34
participants from fifteen ICG/ITSU Member States, two organizations and two
observers from other countries. The Session reviewed progress made during the intersessional period 2001-2003 and drafted its work plan for the period 2004-2005. This
work plan will focus on (i) continued support for the International Tsunami Information
Centre (ITIC); (ii) support for the development of the Global Tsunami Data Base
(GTDB) and the new Integrated Tsunami Data Base (ITDB) consisting of the
WinHTDB graphic shell and a Tsunami Travel Time (TTT) module; (iii) finalization of
the Tsunami Information Kit; (iv) support for the newly established Working Group on
a Comprehensive Tsunami Hazard Reduction Programme (TROIKA); (v) support the
newly established Working Group on the Central American Pacific Coast Tsunami
Warning System (CAPC-TWS); and (vi) support the newly established Working Group
on the Tsunami Warning System in the Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean (SWPTWS). The Group requested a budget of US$ 141,500 for the biennium 2004-2005 to
accomplish the work plan. The Group further decided to (i) study possibilities for
cooperation with JCOMM; (ii) increase the duration of its ITSU Training Programme
held in Hawaii (ITP-Hawaii) to three weeks, and establish an international component
(ITP-International) for in-country assistance to Member States; (iii) establish a “Pool of
Experts” to assist Member States with expert missions; (iv) accept the “Tsunami Hazard
Zone” and “Tsunami Evacuation Route” signs and submit these to ISO; (v) recommend
formal collaborative links with the Circum-Pacific Council; (vi) reduce the frequency of
the Tsunami Newsletter to 4 issues per year; (vii) redefine the terms of reference of the
IOC-ITSU and ITIC web sites; (viii) recommend close(r) collaboration with GLOSS,
ISDR and with CEPREDENAC. The Group further revised the ITSU Master Plan
Conclusions adding focus on the acquisition of data in real-time and optimizing the
network to ensure accurate warning issuance and minimization of false warnings. The
Group requested to urgently proceed with the Review of the ITSU Programme in 2004.
The Group re-elected Dr François Schindelé and Dr Charles McCreery as Chair and
Vice-Chair of ITSU respectively. The Group welcomed Mr Emilio Lorca as the new
ITIC Associate Director, replacing CmDr Rodrigo Nuñez.
(SC-2004/WS/25)
∗
An executive summary of this report is also available in English, French, Russian and Spanish.
This Report is dedicated to Richard Hagemeyer
Richard "Dick" Hagemeyer (1924-2001) passed away on October 25, 2001. He
was the National Contact for the United States to the International Coordinating
Group of the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific (ICG/ITSU), as well as the
USA Tsunami Programme Manager, from 1983 to his passing. During his 51year career with NOAA and the National Weather Service, he made many
important contributions to both the national and international tsunami
programmes. Mr Hagemeyer served as the Chairman of ICG/ITSU from 1987 to
1993, being elected during ITSU XI and serving until Session XIV. Those
involved in the tsunami programme will greatly miss his leadership, his
extensive knowledge of tsunamis, and his dedication to improving the Tsunami
Warning System in the Pacific. “With his support, old, slow minicomputers
were replaced by high speed workstations and the real-time seismic data, then
being recorded in analog on space-consuming drum recorders, was digitized and
displayed on computer monitors”, recalled Mr Mike Blackford, PTWC
Geophysicist-in-Charge (GIC) from 1991-1997. “He was a very good mentor
for me, he really felt like a member of the family,” expressed Dr Chip McCreery,
current PTWC GIC and ICG/ITSU Vice-Chairman.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page (i)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.
OPENING ..................................................................................................................... 1
2.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SESSION...................................................................... 2
3.
PROGRESS IN THE PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION................................ 2
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
REPORT OF THE CHAIR ON THE PROGRAMME AND BUDGET ................. 2
NATIONAL REPORTS........................................................................................... 3
ITIC DIRECTOR’S REPORT ................................................................................. 6
PTWC DIRECTOR’S REPORT.............................................................................. 8
RECENT TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS............................................... 9
SEA LEVEL ENHANCEMENTS ......................................................................... 10
WORKING GROUP ON INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI SIGNS
AND SYMBOLS ................................................................................................... 12
3.8 REPORT ON HTDB/PAC ..................................................................................... 13
4.
TRAINING AND EDUCATION .............................................................................. 14
4.1 ITSU TRAINING PROGRAMME........................................................................ 14
4.2 TRAINING COURSES (EXPERT LEVEL) ......................................................... 16
4.3 PUBLIC EDUCATION ......................................................................................... 18
5.
ITSU PUBLICATIONS AND AWARENESS TOOLS .......................................... 19
5.1 TSUNAMI NEWSLETTER .................................................................................. 19
5.2 TSUNAMI INFORMATION KIT ......................................................................... 20
5.3 TSUNAMI GLOSSARY........................................................................................ 20
5.4 ITSU WEBSITES .................................................................................................. 21
5.5 OTHER................................................................................................................... 21
6.
REGIONAL AND OTHER TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEMS .......................... 22
6.1 NORTHWEST PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM............................... 22
6.2 IAS TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM ................................................................. 22
6.3 CENTRAL AMERICA PACIFIC COAST TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEMS . 23
6.4 SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AND INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI WARNING
SYSTEM ................................................................................................................ 24
6.5 OTHER REGIONS ................................................................................................ 25
7.
EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW ONES....... 25
7.1 CO-OPERATION WITH THE IUGG TSUNAMI COMMISSION...................... 25
7.2 CO-OPERATION WITH ISDR............................................................................. 27
7.3 WORLD DATA CENTRE, SOLID EARTH GEOPHYSICS DEVELOPMENTS
RELATED TO TSUNAMIS.................................................................................. 28
7.4 CO-OPERATION WITH GLOSS ......................................................................... 30
7.5 OTHER................................................................................................................... 30
7.5.1 Joint IOC-WMO Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine
Meteorology (JCOMM)................................................................................. 30
7.5.2 Co-ordination Center for the Prevention of Natural Disasters in Central
America (CEPREDENAC) ............................................................................ 31
8.
PROPOSALS FOR FUTURE PROJECTS ............................................................. 31
8.1 RESILIENCE OF MARGINAL COMMUNITIES
UNDER TSUNAMI THREAT .............................................................................. 31
8.2 SEA-LEVEL WAVEFORM DATABASE............................................................ 32
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page (ii)
9.
LONG TERM STRATEGY OF THE ITSU PROGRAMME ............................... 33
10.
EVALUATION OF THE IOC TSUNAMI PROGRAMME.................................. 34
11.
OTHER BUSINESS ................................................................................................... 35
12.
PROGRAMME AND BUDGET FOR 2004-2005 ................................................... 35
13.
DATES AND PLACE FOR ITSU-XX ..................................................................... 35
14.
ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR......................................................... 36
15.
ADOPTION OF THE SUMMARY REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS... 36
16.
CLOSURE................................................................................................................... 36
ANNEXES
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
AGENDA
RESOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
LIST OF DOCUMENTS
ACTION SHEET – IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISIONS OF ITSU-XVIII
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WORSKHOPS
REVISED CONCLUSIONS OF THE ITSU MASTER PLAN
SPEECHES
LIST OF ACRONYMS
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
1.
OPENING
1
The Nineteenth Session of the International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in
the Pacific was held in Wellington, New Zealand, from 29 September to 3 October 2003 under the
Chairmanship of Mr François Schindelé.
2
The Group was addressed by Mr David Kingi, Representative of the Te Papa Rantaki Maori Unit
for the Department of Internal Affairs (Parent body of the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency
Management). He welcomed the Group in traditional Maori fashion.
3
Dr John Norton, Director of Civil Defence addressed the Group. The full version of Dr Norton’s
speech is available in Annex VIII.
4
Mr François Schindelé, Chair ICG/ITSU addressed the Group. The full version of Mr Schindelé’s
speech is available in Annex VIII.
5
Mr Peter Pissierssens, Head, Ocean Services IOC, speaking on behalf of Dr Patricio Bernal,
Executive Secretary IOC, thanked the Government of New Zealand for the excellent facilities and
additional support provided for this Session.
6
He noted that the ITSU Programme was one of the oldest of the IOC and recalled that during the
Third Session of the IOC’s Assembly in June 1964, the Commission had requested the Secretariat of the
IOC to arrange for the convening of a meeting, preferably in Honolulu in early 1965, to “discuss the
international aspects of the tsunami warning system with a view towards securing the best possible
international cooperation in all phases of the tsunami warning system, such as: tidal and seismic
monitoring stations, internal and international communications, and the issuance and dissemination of
warnings”.
7
A working group on the international aspects of the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific
(TWSP) had met in April 1965, in Honolulu. The group had discussed IOC Resolution III.8, its
implications for the benefit of the Member States, and the actions required to provide, on an international
basis, timely tsunami warnings. As a result, the International Coordination Group for the Tsunami
Warning System in the Pacific (ICG/ITSU, or ITSU) was formed, composed of Member States in the
Pacific region. Its purpose has been, for the past 38 years, to "recommend and coordinate programs most
beneficial to countries belonging to the IOC whose coastal areas are threatened by tsunamis".
8
He stressed that the ITSU Programme is the only IOC Programme that deals directly with the
protection of human life and property.
9
He noted that the relevance of the ITSU Programme is demonstrated regularly and most recently
on 25 September 2003, i.e., during the Wellington ITSU Workshop, when a tsunami warning had been
issued after an earthquake occurred in Hokkaido, Japan.
10
Mr Pissierssens then called the attention of the Group to the Master Plan for the Tsunami
Warning System in the Pacific, designed to be a long-term guide for improvement of the Tsunami
Warning System based on the analysis of existing components of the system. He noted that the second
version had been prepared in 1995 (published in 1999) and suggested that updating of the Master Plan
might now be required again.
11
He further noted that, despite their vulnerability to the tsunami threat, a number of Member States
from the Pacific region had not yet joined the ICG/ITSU, and called on these countries to do so.
12
Mr Pissierssens informed the Group that the Secretarial duties for ITSU would henceforth be
assumed by Dr Dimitri Travin but pledged his further commitment to ITSU in terms of assuring funding
and to raising its profile within the IOC.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 2
2.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SESSION
The Group adopted the Agenda (Annex I, hereto) and Timetable (Document IOC/ITSU-XIX/1
13
add.).
14
The Group decided that there was no need to designate a Rapporteur and agreed that input to
the Summary Report of the Session, to be adopted under Agenda item 14 will be the responsibility of the
Chair, Vice-Chair, Technical Secretary and participants introducing an Agenda item.
15
The Group established an intra-sessional working groups to work on Programme and Budget
2004-2005 (to be Chaired by R. Nuñez). Other sessional working groups were established under their
respective agenda items as necessary.
16
The Chair of the Local Organizing Committee, Mr Mike O’Leary informed participants on local
arrangements.
17
The Technical Secretary informed the Group that no nominations had been received for the Chair
and Vice Chair. He informed the Group that nominations would be welcomed until Tuesday 30
September, lunchtime.
18
The Technical Secretary, Mr Peter Pissierssens, introduced the Provisional List of Documents
(Doc. IOC/ITSU-XIX/4 prov.), attached as Annex IV. He expressed his concern over the late submission
of working documents, which had made it impossible to distribute the documents by mail. He reported
that all working documents had been posted on the ITSU web site (http://ioc.unesco.org/itsu) for
consultation and download.
The List of Participants is presented in Annex III.
19
20
The Group expressed its sincere gratitude to Dr Iouri Oliounine who, for many years, had
expertly managed the ITSU Programme at the IOC Secretariat. They wished him all the best in his future
endeavours.
21
The Group decided to dedicate this Session to Mr Richard Hagemeyer, who had sadly passed
away during the intersessional period, and requested the Secretariat to include a photograph of
Mr Hagemeyer and appropriate text in the Summary Report of the Session.
3.
3.1
PROGRESS IN THE PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
REPORT OF THE CHAIR ON THE PROGRAMME AND BUDGET
22
The Chair, Dr François Schindelé introduced this item referring to Document IOC/ITSU-XIX/6
(Report of the Chair of ICG/ITSU on intersessional activities) and reported on the intersessional activities
of the ICG/ITSU focusing on the significant improvement in the programme.
23
He thanked the delegates of Chile, France, New Zealand, Republic of Korea and the USA for
their contribution to the Trust Fund in support of the Tsunami Programme and expressed the wish that
other Member States would follow this most important example.
24
Many of the activities recommended by ITSU-XVIII have been successfully implemented: the
new procedures and criteria for issuing warnings, watches and cancellations have been implemented; the
ad hoc working group Chaired by the Past Chair has drafted a proposal on International Tsunami Signs
and Symbols.
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 3
25
The Chair stressed that more detailed discussion of the programme implementation will be held
under relevant Agenda items.
26
The Chair reported on his input to the Thirty-fifth Session of the IOC Executive Council held in
Paris in June 2002. In his address, he had identified ways for the future development of the Programme
and the TWS in the Pacific. He pointed out that efforts should be made to improve and adapt a network of
sea-level measuring stations in the Pacific to the needs of the TWSP. He stressed that the use of existing
gauges for multiple purposes, such as for national tidal networks and for research on long-term sea-level
changes, in the context of GOOS, must be encouraged in order to secure the necessary resources for their
long-term maintenance. Several delegations had reported on their national activities related to ITSU,
stressing the importance of ITSU as the only IOC programme that was specifically aimed at preserving
human life. The Executive Council had stressed the need for Member States affected by the risk of
tsunamis to increase their investment in national tsunami warning and mitigation facilities. The Executive
Council approved the Summary Report of the ITSU-XVIII and adopted the recommendations. The
Executive Council adopted Resolution EC-XXXV.1.
27
The Officers Meeting of the ICG/ITSU took place at ITIC during the second week of February
2003. The Officers examined the implementation of the decisions of the Group adopted at its Eighteenth
Session and identified areas where further preparations were necessary for ITSU-XIX.
28
The Chair then emphasized the importance of the International Tsunami Information Centre
(ITIC) in developing disaster prevention and preparedness activities. He introduced the new ITIC
Director, Dr Laura Kong, and focused on two of the numerous activities she has done since her
nomination: the excellent quality of the Tsunami Newsletter, and the quality of the contact she has with
the Member States and other countries that request information on tsunami and on the TWSP (Tsunami
Warning System in the Pacific).
29
He stressed the importance of regional tsunami warning centers and informed on the progress of
the implementation of a Central America Tsunami Warning System, and on the decision of Indonesia to
implement a tsunami warning system. He recommended the Member States of Central America and of the
South West Pacific Region to take the opportunity of this session to meet together and with the Director
of ITIC to analyse the difficulties and problem and how to solve them. He recommended using the
facilities of the PTWC to transmit the data of several sea-level stations.
30
He concluded reading the conclusions of the Master Plan (IOC/INF-1124, 2nd Edition, 1999)
about the necessary and significant improvements that have been highlighted in 1999 at the time of the
publication of the document, in terms of warning, tsunami hazard and risk assessment, preparedness,
mitigation and research.
31
The Group congratulated its Chair for the continuous attention to the programme’s needs and
accepted his report on intersessional activities.
32
The Group called on Member States to be more responsive to inquiries from the ICG/ITSU
Officers and be more supportive to the programme implementation.
33
The Group requested the Technical Secretary to include the updated version of the Action Sheet,
presented as Annex V to the ICG/ITSU Officers Meeting Report (IOC/INF-1181) as Annex V to the
Summary Report of the Nineteenth Session of the ICG/ITSU, taking into consideration information
provided under relevant Agenda items of this Session.
3.2
34
NATIONAL REPORTS
Through Circular Letter No. 2064 of 9 April 2003, Member States had been invited to this Session
and were also requested to submit National Reports not later than 1 July 2003, so as to provide participants
to the Session with sufficient time to read the reports. The Chair noted with regret that several reports were
submitted just at the beginning of the Session and that a few had still not been submitted.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 4
35
The Chair reported that thirteen (out of 25 ICG/ITSU Member States) national reports had been
received and been made available through the IOC/ITSU web site. The sum total is provided in the format
adopted during ITSU-XVIII and was revised during the last Officers Meeting. In addition, reports of El
Salvador and Papua New Guinea had also been received. He recalled that format guidelines for the
submission of National Reports had been made available through the web site as Document IOC/ITSUXIX/Inf.2. He insisted on the importance of knowledge of the occurrence of tsunamis, not only just the
damage causing tsunamis. Tsunami Center operators and scientists need to know where the last tsunamis
were recorded and who archives these records. He requested that most tsunami observations and records be
reported for the next Session.
36
The Delegate of Australia informed the Group that the main focus of activity in Australia during
the recent intersessional period has been on organizing tsunami services in light of changing
organizational requirements and structures, and the partially implemented plans to develop the Australian
Tsunami Alert Service (ATAS). The ATAS is to be co-managed by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM),
Geoscience Australia (GA) and Emergency Management Australia (EMA), with the support of the
National Tidal Facility Australia (NTFA). Two key factors in this regard are changes to sea level
monitoring and tidal prediction activities and the establishment of a major oceanographic services
initiative.
37
The proposed transition of the NTFA to a new National Tidal Centre (NTC) will better support
the development of national operational tsunami warning activities. The proposed NTC would subsume
the functions and responsibilities of the NTFA and would run under the aegis of an existing operational
agency of the Australian Federal Government. The proposal is subject to funding and approval by the
Government. The BOM has established an Oceanographic Services Program, to foster the development of
ocean services to the community. The new Programme is a major commitment, paralleling the Weather
Services Program, which has delivered a very large range of weather services to the community over
many decades. It now has management responsibilities for operational tsunami services. The increased
focus and attention on these services will better facilitate the development of plans for an ATAS.
38
Australia has adopted a two stage approach to developing its tsunami warning systems, involving
the initial development of the ATAS and the longer term objective of a more fully established warning
system. Plans have been partially implemented, on the Australian western coasts, and informally in
Australia’s Pacific coastal areas. Plans further focus on: (i) Consolidation of operational tsunami alert
activities involving BOM, GA and NTFA/NTC for all coastal regions; (ii) Recapitalisation and review of
observing networks for detecting tsunamis in Australia; (iii) Development of decision support for run-up
prediction; (iv) Development of public awareness and education material on the tsunami hazard in
Australia; (v) Development of a broader tsunami mitigation strategy with other key national stakeholders
or potentially interested participants. Australia is also interested in jointly exploring partnerships with
other national agencies in the region to further common tsunami warning objectives, and with ITSU in
particular in the nearby areas of the Indian Ocean basin.
39
The Delegate of Canada recognized the importance of ICG/ITSU and is proud of the fact that his
country had participated in all nineteen ITSU sessions. These meetings are the main mechanism by which
member states discuss the ideas and information necessary for continued improvement of the tsunami
warning system. Canada also notes that in the nearly 40 years of ITSU’s existence they have had only
four National Contacts. It is the opinion of Canada that this continuity is important, as it contributes to
active participation at the meetings and to the achievement of long term goals. As noted in the Canadian
National Report, over the past two years there has been a continuation of a major modeling initiative and
the start of work on a Canadian tsunami catalogue. Both of these projects support tsunami mitigation and
education. Funding for these projects ends in another six months, and the challenge will be to secure
ongoing funding support. Recent scientific studies have confirmed the tsunami warning station at Langara
Island needs to be improved and work is underway to obtain the funding necessary for that work.
40
The Delegate of Chile informed the Group that the Chilean Hydrographic and Oceanographic
Service is responsible for the national tsunami warning system in his country. He explained that Chile
uses the TREMORS system with a renewed sea level network that comprises 18 sea level stations
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 5
(transmitting data by satellite), and that a DART system buoy will be installed in October 2003, 80 miles
offshore the north coast of Chile. Chile is furthermore producing educational publications and providing
information over the Internet. A series of tsunami inundation maps, of which 26 were already produced,
continue to be published for use in ports and coastal cities. At the international level, Chile actively
participates in international cooperation activities in Central and South America. At the sub-regional
level, Chile collaborates with Peru on tsunami exercises.
41
The Delegate of Ecuador informed the Group that the tsunami warning system in her country has
improved since ITSU-XVIII: tsunami inundation maps have been prepared for Esmeraldas City as a first
step to identify risk areas. In addition, a reliable tsunami warning system is being developed to identify
evacuation routes and emergency shelter locations as part of a tsunami prevention and mitigation plan for
Esmeraldas City.
42
The Delegate of Fiji informed the Group that his country plans to develop a TREMORS-based
tsunami warning system at the Mineral Resources Department (MRD) Seismology Unit in Suva. This will
be implemented in cooperation with PTWC. It is expected that the system will operate on a 24-hour basis,
cooperating also with the Fiji Meteorological Services. He noted that some equipment for the monitoring
of tide levels in the Fiji Islands (Suva, Lautoka, Savusavu and Labasa) is required.
43
The Delegate of France reported that a new tide gauge was installed in Marquesas Island, in Hiva
Oa, which is well known for is extreme amplification effects for tsunamis coming from South and Central
America. The project, financed by the French Government, was developed in collaboration with PTWC.
France assisted with the repairs of the tide gauge of Nuku Hiva. Accordingly, there are now two tide
gauges in Marquesas Island, operating in quasi real-time. A new TREMORS station has also been
installed in New Caledonia for monitoring this region of the Pacific. Results are published in real time on
the EMSC web site (http://www.emsc-csem.org/). The tsunami warning plan of French Polynesia been
upgraded in collaboration with civil defence. A 2-day exercise on tsunami warning was organized in
Marquesas Island to validate the new warning plan, involving high authorities and municipalities. As a
test, a scenario was followed of a tsunami generated by an earthquake in Chile with a magnitude of 8.4.
During the 2-day event, educational documents (IOC) were distributed in schools and educational
meetings were held in the municipalities with the population.
44
The Delegate of Indonesia reported that Mr Ibnu Purwana attended the ITSU Training
Programme 2003 conducted at ITIC Honolulu (4-15 August 2003). Between 26 and 29 August 2003, the
Meteorological and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia conducted an International Seminar/Workshop on
Tsunami: “In Memoriam of 120 years Krakatau Eruption-Tsunami and Lesson Learned from Large
Tsunami”. The Workshop had made the following recommendations: (i) construction of community
memorials and preparation of leaflets for the publics and at-risk communities; (ii) establishment of
National Tsunami Warning Center which can be further developed to cover its area of responsibility to
the Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean; (iii) preparation of guidelines for disaster management in coastal
areas; (iv) creation of a comprehensive tsunami database in the format compatible with internationally
approved standard; and (v) undertaking of efforts to carry out inundation modeling studies and to prepare
evacuation maps.
45
The Delegate of the United States noted that this was his first ITSU meeting after the tragic loss
of long time USA representative, Mr Richard Hagemeyer. He then highlighted the continued success of
the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Programme (NTHMP) stating that this was now a
nationally funded project with individual identification within the National Weather Service program. He
noted that the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) buoys have proved their
operational capability and have been transitioned from research and development to operational use. The
Delegate noted that the USA has continued to fully support the operation of ITIC and development of the
unified tsunami data base, and anticipated that such efforts can be expected to continue in the future.
46
The Delegate of Papua New Guinea informed the Group that tsunami awareness in Papua New
Guinea had been greatly enhanced as a result of the Aitape Tsunami in 1998. Efforts were now made to
improve preparedness with preparation and distribution of tsunami posters and booklets. While Papua
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 6
New Guinea lacks effective tsunami monitoring and early warning equipment, better communication
links could help to achieve a better level of preparedness. Papua New Guinea will support the
establishment of the South West Pacific and Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System. The Delegate also
expressed his country’s interest in becoming an IOC and ICG/ITSU Member State (see Also Agenda Item
11).
47
The Delegate of New Zealand informed the Group that for three days 25–27 September, as a
prelude to ITSU XIX, New Zealand hosted a Tsunami Workshop, titled “Tsunamis in the South Pacific”.
The Workshop occurred as a result of an invitation issued by ITSU and IUGG. The New Zealand
Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS) and the National Institute of Water and Atmospherics
(NIWA) responded to the invitation and organized the workshop. They were supported by the Greater
Wellington Council, Wellington City Council, The Earthquake Commission and the Ministry of Civil
Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM). The prime organizer of the Workshop was Ms Gaye
Downes of GNS. MCDEM is particularly thankful for the considerable work done by Ms Downes in
organizing the Workshop and asked that the Chair consider acknowledging the effort put into the
Workshop and the success of in support of ITSU goals.
48
The Delegate of Japan recalled the earthquake that occurred on 25 September 2003 in Hokkaido,
Japan resulting in a tsunami with a height of more than 3 meters. He noted that JMA would install a new
system for earthquake and tsunami observation on 1 October but that this had been too late for the 25
September event.
49
The Delegate of the Russian Federation noted that the overall length of Russian coastline of the
Pacific West region is more then 2000 km. The tsunami warning centers of Russia are located at the Pacific
coastline in three cities: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and Vladivostok. In
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in September 2002, the International Tsunami Workshop “Local Tsunami
Warning and Mitigation” was organized using the financial support of the IOC/UNESCO, Russian
Foundation for Basic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, and International Ocean Institute (Malta
Isl.). The Workshop gathered more than 100 participants from 12 countries. All of the participants thanked
the IOC/UNESCO for the Workshop support.
50
The Delegate of the Republic of Korea informed the Group that the Korea Meteorological
Administration (KMA) has been trying to assure the promptness and accuracy of announcements of
tsunami information. For this reason KMA has been executing simulated tsunami preparedness drills to
evaluate the tsunami warning and notification system each year. Recently, KMA has executed the drill
using computer communication through the auto reporting system which is part of the National
Earthquake Information System (NEIS) developed by KMA this year.
51
The Group urged all Member States to add information on tsunami occurrences and observations
on sea level stations to national reports.
52
The Group expressed its gratitude to the Member States that had submitted national reports and
thanked the Secretariat for making the reports available on-line.
53
The Group requested all Member States to provide, by the end of 2003, a summary (10-15 lines)
of their national reports for publication in the ITSU Newsletter in early 2004.
3.3
54
ITIC DIRECTOR’S REPORT
The ITIC Director, Dr Laura Kong, introduced this item referring to Document IOC/ITSU-XIX/8
(Report of the ITIC Director). She gave her report on the activities of the ITIC during the intersessional
period and introduced several new initiatives that would improve the services of the ITIC for Member
States. The ITIC Director provided a short overview of the changes in staff noting that she replaced the
retiring Michael Blackford in January 2002, and reporting the hiring of Tammy Kaitoku as the ITIC
Webmaster in September 2002. She thanked the Associate Director for his hard work during the
intersessional period.
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 7
55
During the intersessional period, the ITIC attended a number of meetings on behalf of the ITSU
to provide information on the TWSP and other tsunami mitigation efforts. The ITIC Director highlighted
two meetings, which have facilitated the active implementations of regional tsunami warning systems in
Central America and Indonesia and the South Pacific. She also reported on the successful efforts to
recruit member states to ITSU, stating that the countries of El Salvador and Papua New Guinea are
forwarding documentation through their respective governments to request membership. She further
noted that these countries have already demonstrated an active interest by attending ITSU-XIX this week.
56
The ITIC conducted two Visiting Experts Programmes involving participants from Ecuador and
Peru in 2002 and Chile and Indonesia in 2003, and deferred detailed discussion to Agenda Items 4.1 on
the following day where the ITP would be extensively discussed. It was noted that the name of the VEP
was changed to the ITSU Training Programme in 2003 to more accurately reflect its intent. The ITIC
Director noted that the current programme was not long enough to adequately cover the breadth and depth
of tsunami warning topics and requested discussion on how to improve the situation. The ITIC Director
also made reference to her recent experiences in which the ITP Training in Hawaii was followed by
training in Indonesia, and noted the high value to the Member State. She further proposed that an ITPInternational programme be considered and that this be combined with the collection of information on
each country’s tsunami warning capacity and other mitigation needs.
57
The ITIC Director reported briefly on Document IOC/ITSU-XIX/12 (ITSU Visiting Experts
Programme 2001-2003), which presented the results of a 2003 survey of past VEP participants to
determine the value of the Programme and to identify participants still active in the tsunami field that
could serve as resources for local and regional tsunami probleMs She deferred detailed discussion to
Agenda Item 4.1 on the following day where the ITP Programme would be further discussed.
58
The ITIC Director then reported briefly on the Tsunami Newsletter, deferring the detailed
discussion to Agenda Item 5.1 on the following day where the Newsletter would be further discussed.
59
The ITIC Director gave an overview of the ITIC Library, noting that it contains about 1,600
shelved items (books, series, reports) and 1,250 documents (reprints, abstracts, manuscripts, photocopies).
In September 2003, so as to reach a wider audience, the ITIC Library Card Catalogue was placed online
at its web site as a searchable database. The online search engine allows the user to specify different
search attributes, including author, title, keyword, and event date, and upon submission, returns a list of
references that the ITIC Library holds.
60
The ITIC Director gave a short overview of the various other electronic information services it
provides, deferring to Agenda Item 5.4 for the detailed discussion of the ITIC and ITSU web sites. The
Director discussed the current status of the Tsunami Bulletin Board, reporting that it was temporarily
disabled as an automated system and being transferred to a user-friendlier, web-enhanced application by
the end of 2003.
61
The ITIC Director referred to the ITIC Action Plan presented at the Officers Meeting and
reported on the status of the items.
62
The Group expressed its appreciation for the excellent work done by the ITIC Director and
Associate Director, assisting in the implementation of the ITSU-XVIII work plan.
63
The Delegate of Chile confirmed continued support by Chile to ITSU but informed the Group that
CmDr Rodrigo Nuñez would not be able to continue in his capacity as ITIC Associate Director due to other
future commitments. Accordingly Chile offered the services of Mr Emilio Lorca as ITIC Associate Director.
64
The Group thanked Chile for its continued support, thanked CmDr Rodrigo Nuñez for his
energetic involvement in ITSU as the ITIC Associate Director, and welcomed Mr Emilio Lorca as the new
ITIC Associate Director.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 8
3.4
PTWC DIRECTOR’S REPORT
65
The PTWC Director, Dr Charles McCreery gave his report on the activities of PTWC during the
intersessional period and on assorted issues related to tsunami warning operations. He referred to
Document IOC/ITSU-XIX/9 (Report of the PTWC Director).
66
He reported that PTWC had been renamed the Richard H. Hagemeyer Pacific Tsunami Warning
Center in December 2001 in honor of the former Chair of ICG/ITSU and U.S.A. National Contact who
unexpectedly passed away in October 2001.
67
He reported that PTWC issued a total of 59 bulletins between June 2001 and May 2003. Forty of
these were Tsunami Information Bulletins for earthquakes with no destructive teletsunami potential.
Nineteen were issued for four tsunami warning situations: June 23, 2001 – Peru; September 8, 2002 –
Papua New Guinea; January 20, 2003 – Solomon Islands; and January 22, 2003 – Mexico. Of these, only
the Peru event produced a significant tsunami with up to 70 casualties.
68
He explained that the new procedures and criteria discussed and accepted at ITSU-XVIII
(Document ITSU-XVIII/12) were implemented by PTWC on June 21, 2003. These include changing to
the seismic moment magnitude from the Richter surface wave magnitude for magnitude criteria, and
raising the magnitude criteria for expanding warnings and watches from greater than 7.5 to greater than
7.8. A key purpose of these changes was to reduce the incidence of unnecessary warnings, a longstanding weakness of the warning system. Canada asked about any changes to WC/ATWC procedures
that apply to them and the PTWC Director explained that WC/ATWC procedures remain the same and
that they been using moment magnitude for several years for their local and regional events. The Group
thanked PTWC for its implementation of the recommendations.
69
The PTWC Director described certain recent changes to its tsunami product identifiers as well as
a standardization of bulletin formats. Specific details of these changes are provided in Document
IOC/ITSU-XIX/9.
70
During the intersessional period, comprehensive backup capabilities were established between the
two U.S.A. tsunami warning centers. This included the exchange and testing of messaging capabilities
and procedures. Now, if either Center becomes disabled the other Center can substitute. To the user,
such a changeover would be transparent.
71
A brief description of directions for progress based on improving the sea level network and the
development of quantitative forecasting capabilities was given, with detailed discussion deferred to
agenda items 3.5 and 3.6.
72
The PTWC Director gave an overview regarding a new type of tsunami runup detector used for
the past two years on the island of Hawaii. The systems have a compact design and can be easily
mounted on land near shore. Based on standard home security alarm and mobile telephone technology,
and powered in some locations by solar power, the relatively inexpensive gauges will alert PTWC within
about 40 seconds of their sensors being triggered by coastal flooding. The eight systems have been
reliable so far and without false triggers.
73
The PTWC Director pointed out that for unknown historical reasons there are many places in the
Pacific never named in PTWC warnings because they do not have "warning points" designated for
computing estimated arrival times. These include Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Australia, the
Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Tokelau, Vanuatu, Tonga, Kermadec Islands, Tuvalu,
Wallis and Futuna, Pitcairn, Niue, and Antarctica. He asked the Group which of these areas should be
included or if they knew of any reason why they should not be included.
74
The Delegate of Australia informed the Group that they would work with PTWC to establish
warning points for Australia, and volunteered that the small island states in the Pacific would also want
warning points.
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 9
The Delegate of France indicated that Wallis and Futuna should have a warning point.
75
76
The Delegate of El Salvador volunteered that all the missing Central America countries need
warning points.
77
The Delegate of Papua New Guinea said that his country needed to be included.
78
The Delegate of Indonesia indicated the need for a warning point at Biak Island off of Irian Jaya.
79
No reasons were given for not adding warning points. Based on this response, PTWC will add
warning points to provide complete Pacific coverage.
80
The PTWC Director brought to the attention of the Group that in a destructive Pacific-wide
tsunami there is the potential for some confusion regarding the cancellation. In particular, because
individual areas may and should cancel or extend a warning on their own if their information supports it,
there can be a conflict with information in the PTWC bulletins. It was suggested that discussions of how
this could be approached would be undertaken between interested delegates out of Session.
81
The PTWC Director asked for input from the Group regarding its development of a 5 to 10 year
strategic plan. This item will be discussed in more detail under Agenda Item 9.
82
Input from the Group was also requested regarding the need for and development of graphical
warning products to supplement text products. These types of products could be distributed by email and
EMWIN and also be shown on the PTWC web site. Sample graphical products were shown – a location
map showing the epicenter with historical earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as travel time maps with
areas of warning and watch indicated. Canada indicated they were interested in such products,
particularly the location and travel time maps. Chile made the comment that they currently use EMWIN
and they encouraged its use by other Member States because it is fast and reliable. Australia said that such
products could be very useful and suggested that they should be developed in concert with emergency
management agencies to optimize their utility.
83
The Group welcomed the development of graphical and other new products and their
dissemination. It was noted that close coordination between PTWC and the Alaska Center should be
established to ensure that such new products are prepared and made available by both Centers.
84
The Group recommended that products should be designed in consultation with emergency
response services to maximize their usefulness.
85
Lastly, the PTWC Director addressed communications issues. He reported on the regular
communications tests conducted by PTWC. Although there haven't been any significant problems with
the established communication circuits used by Member States, in the response remains sporadic with
nearly half of the addressees responding less than 50% of the time. In addition he reported that the 13th
Edition of the Communications Plan was well along in its preparation and should be distributed before the
end of the first quarter of 2004. It will include information about the new procedures and criteria,
modified product identifiers, bulletin formats, updated sea level and seismic networks, and updated
contact information.
3.5
86
RECENT TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Dr Frank Gonzalez introduced this Agenda Item. He informed the Group that during ITS 2001,
Dr Eddie Bernard, Director of NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, Washington,
presented “Tsunami: Reduction of Impacts through three Key Actions (TROIKA)”. In this presentation,
Dr Bernard offered a three-pillar programme to mitigate the impacts of Tsunamis, following the model
used in the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Programme (NTHMP) and offered an
implementation plan for such a programme. Dr Bernard also offers a number of potential funding options
for fully implementing TROIKA on a global scale. The following comprise the three pillars of TROIKA:
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 10
1.
Hazard Assessment-Generating local and distant tsunami inundation maps for coastal
communities using internationally accepted numerical model methodology. Estimates of
coastal areas susceptible to tsunami flooding will be available from a network of modelers
and data managers who will be sharing community modeling tools via the Internet.
2.
Mitigation-Developing response plans for emergency managers, placing tsunami
evacuation signs in threatened coastal areas, and maintaining a tsunami education
programme for local residents and school systems.
3.
Warning Guidance-Developing and deploying a network of early warning tsunami
detection buoys in the world’s seismically active coastal areas to complement the global
network of real-time broadband seismometers and supplement regional tsunami warning
centers.
87
The Group welcomed the TROIKA proposal stating that it is consistent with its needs and with the
approach of other global programmes.
88
The Group decided to establish a Sessional Working Group to draft a Recommendation that will
recommend the development of the TROIKA proposal as well as the establishment of an inter sessional
working Group that will complete the draft project proposal. The Sessional working Group was Chaired by
Mr Jeff LaDouce (USA) and included as members CmDr Rodrigo Nuñez (Chile), Dr Viacheslav Gusiakov
(IUGG), Mr Neil Head (Australia), Mr Noritake Nishide (Japan) and Dr Boris Levin (Russian Federation).
The Group adopted Recommendation ITSU-XIX.1.
89
3.6
SEA LEVEL ENHANCEMENTS
90
Dr Charles McCreery introduced this Agenda Item. He indicated that there is the need for
comprehensive sea level coverage not only to quickly evaluate destructive tsunamis but also to quickly
cancel warnings, the more common situation. He explained that there is gap in Central America in terms of
sea level gauges: in the past there were three gauges in Mexico. Today only one gauge is operational (Cabo
San Lucas). It was hoped that this could be addressed in cooperation with CICESE. Dr McCreery noted with
regret that there are no Central American gauges currently used by PTWC. Another problem area is the
Kuril-Kamchatka region: gauges were installed there 3-4 years ago and they operated well for first year but
problems occurred and today both gauges are non-operational. This is regrettable as this area is a known
source of destructive teletsunamis. Elsewhere some problems exist due to insufficient data sampling and
transmission rates. Most national tidal facilities sample at a rate that is less than what we need. In addition
many of the gauges transmit only on hourly schedules and this can cause unnecessary delays in evaluating
the tsunami. Dr McCreery stated that we should work to upgrade all gauges so they have sampling rates
adequate for tsunami waves (at least, and optimally 15-secs sampling) and the capability for real time data
should be made, even if only on a triggered basis.
91
The Chair then requested Member States to report on their national sea level gauges status.
92
The Delegate of Chile reported that his country operates 18 stations. All are the same type of
instrument that measures several parameters. Samples are taken every two minutes. Unfortunately most
records are not good enough for tsunamis. This is the case for most countries: sea level networks were not
designed for tsunamis but for hydrographic purposes. The Delegate therefore recommended the merging of
the GLOSS and ITSU requirements. Discussion on this topic was referred to Agenda Item 7.4.
93
The Delegate of Australia informed the Group that plans for the sea level observing network
operated by Australia currently focus on the future of the National Tidal Facility Australia (NTFA). The
NTFA has been the national agency responsible for managing and operating sea level gauges in Australia
and (under contract) in a number of South Pacific countries. The proposed transition of the NTFA to a
new National Tidal Centre (NTC) to be operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), is
subject to government approval and funding. Subject to the creation of the NTC, the network will be
evaluated for relevance to national and international priorities for sea level observations for climate
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 11
change, port management and tsunami service applications. The existing network had not been designed
with tsunami services as a prime application, and is now of an age where refitting of the observing assets
is due. The BOM will be submitting proposals to government for further funding of its planned expanded
ocean/marine observing activities. The recapitalization of the sea level gauge network will be included in
such new policy proposals which are being framed to meet the budget cycle either in 2004 or the
following year. Tsunami requirements will be specifically factored into these plans.
94
The Delegate of Canada reported on 14 stations on the British Columbia coast recording water
levels at 1-minute intervals (integrated values). Three of these stations are designated as tsunami warning
stations and are capable of transmitting data by MSAT satellite. In the event of a tsunami event real-time
transmission can be initiated by an on-site alarm trigger, or by external control within 15 minutes.
Records of three tsunami events over the past two years indicate excellent response at two of the three
stations and there are plans to improve the response at the third station.
95
Under normal conditions, data from all stations is downloaded once a day. Until recently the
download interval had been every three hours, but a change was made to reduce data transmission costs.
In the event of a tsunami watch or warning it is important that data be made available to PTWC,
WC/ATWC and local emergency response personnel in near real-time. The challenge for Canada will be
to supplement the existing telephone line and satellite data transmission modes with other cost effective
modes such as Internet or use of existing seismic data transmission systems.
96
The Delegate of Indonesia reported 54 tide gauges managed by the national coordinating agency for
survey and mapping. They are used for coastal mapping and the instruments are analogue recorders. Six
gauges are maintained by the Directorate General for sea transportation and are intended for monitoring sea
level for transportation. The network is now in a stage of coordination in order to modernize it so it can be
used for tsunami monitoring as well.
97
The Representative of IUGG, Dr Viacheslav Gusiakov, noted that sea level data are important not
only for operational warning but also for tsunami research. Getting these data from stations near a new
tsunamigenic event still presents a big problem for researchers, because sea level stations belong to
different agencies in different countries and are often not readily available for users outside of these
agencies. Dr Gusiakov proposed to make some sort of inventory of sea level stations currently existing in
the Pacific whose data are potentially useful for tsunami researchers and that it would contain the basic
information on each such as station name, code, type of instrument, exact geographical coordinates, date
of establishment, known gaps in functioning, and address of data owner. This information can be included
in the HTDB dataset and through the HTDB can be made available to whole tsunami community.
98
The Delegate of Japan noted that it is very important for Japan to cope with local tsunamis, so it
has the priority to install and maintain tsunami observation facilities in coasts and islands. There are 103
observational points for tsunamis in Japan at which float-type (well-type) gauges are installed to monitor
the sea level. These data are telemetered on a real time basis. The sampling rate is one sample per fifteen
seconds. At 66 out of the 103 stations, those belonging to JMA, Huge-Tsunami Gauges are installed.
They are a kind of instrument for measuring tsunami run-up and they are installed on land to observe the
height of large-scale tsunamis that exceed the measuring range of the float-type gauges. Although JMA
sends the data of only 5 stations to PTWC at present, JMA is willing to send more data from other
stations.
99
The Delegate of Papua New Guinea reported that his country does not own a sea level gauge
network but instruments that exist in the country include one that is partly owned by the Rabaul Volcano
Observatory and the University of Hawaii. The equipment has been in operation for a long time and is
the source of many existing tsunami records. Several other instruments exist in Papua New Guinea and
the region. These are operated by the National Tidal Facility of Australia. Papua New Guinea expressed
the need for better co-operation with Australia in regard to data sharing. The use of such instruments
worldwide has now expanded to include tsunami monitoring.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 12
100
The Delegate of El Salvador reported that, in addition to the sea level gauges mentioned in his
national report, Central America installed 5 stations in Nicaragua. Honduras and Guatemala. They send data
via satellite every three hours and have a sampling rate of two minutes. It is planned to provide El Salvador
data to PTWC as part of ITSU programme.
101
The Group recommended to make an inventory of existing sea level stations, the data of which
can be used for the tsunami programme, and requested Member States to provide to ITIC all necessary
details.
102
The Group recommended to keep real time data sets already collected by sea level stations at
PTWC so they remain available.
3.7
WORKING GROUP ON INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI SIGNS AND SYMBOLS
103
This Agenda item was introduced by Mr Emilio Lorca (Chile) on behalf of Capt. Hugo Gorziglia
(Past Chairman) referring to Document IOC/ITSU-XIX/10 (Progress Report of the ad hoc Working
Group on International Tsunami Signs and Symbols). He explained that the need to establish appropriate
internationally standardized and recognized signs and symbols for use in tsunami mitigation activities was
raised at the Eighteenth Session of the ICG/ITSU, and through Recommendation ITSU-XVIII.2 a
Working Group was established to examine this matter. The Working Group integrated by Canada, Chile,
Colombia, Peru and the ITIC, Chaired by the Past Chair, Capt. Hugo Gorziglia conducted the work
aiming to develop an internationally standardized set of signs and symbols to be used in the field and on
tsunami inundation maps, tsunami evacuation maps and educational material.
104
A preliminary report was introduced at the ICG/ITSU Officers Meeting held in Hawaii, USA,
10–13 February 2003, where it was analyzed, and guidance was provided to the Chairman on the way to
proceed. The Final Report of the Working Group has been submitted to the ITSU-XIX as Document
IOC/ITSU-XIX/10.
105
Mr Lorca reported on the work carried out and on the results reached, proposing to (i) agree on
the need to have two international recognized sign for a ‘Tsunami Evacuation Route’ and ‘Tsunami
Hazard Zone’; and (ii) to agree on the need to or not to have as an international recognized sign for
‘Tsunami Refuge Zone’.
106
Participants were invited to provide comments on the Report and particularly on the proposals
therein included.
107
The Group accepted the “Tsunami Hazard Zone” and “Tsunami Evacuation Route” signs.
108
Several Member States pointed out that the use of the colour blue for a warning sign was not
appropriate. The Group decided that guidance on colours should be obtained from the ISO (International
Standards Organization).
109
The Group expressed concern over the use of text on the signs, as this would require careful
translation of the text into many languages. However, it was recognized that, without text, the signs
would be difficult to interpreted by the public.
110
The Group accepted the use of text on the signs that in their English language versions read
“Tsunami Hazard Zone” and “Tsunami Evacuation Route”, but requested all Member States to submit to
the IOC Secretariat, by March 2004, the language versions of the text strings for both signs in all official
(and other appropriate) languages for their country.
111
The Group requested the Executive Secretary IOC to submit a proposal for the agreed tsunami
signs to the ISO, including the different language versions, as received from Member States, and to
request advice from the ISO on colour schemes.
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 13
112
The Group decided that there is no need to have an internationally recognized sign for “Tsunami
Refuge Zone”.
113
The Group tasked the ITIC Director to distribute information on the adopted signs widely upon
their approval by the ISO.
114
The Group, considering that the ad hoc Working Group had successfully finalized its work,
accepted its report with the modifications made by the ICG/ITSU at its Nineteenth Session, and
disbanded the Working Group.
3.8
REPORT ON HTDB/PAC
115
This Agenda Item was introduced by Dr V. Gusiakov referring to Document IOC/ITSU-XIX/11
(Report on HTDB/PAC). In accordance with Recommendation ITSU-XVII.2, a comprehensive Historical
Tsunami Database (HTDB) for the Pacific region has been compiled as part of the joint IUGG/TC and
ICG/ITSU Project “Basic Pacific Tsunami Catalogue and Database”. The database consists of three main
parts: the catalogue of tsunamigenic events with their basic source parameters, the catalogue of the
observed run-up heights and a Pacific-wide catalogue of historical earthquakes (nearly 230,000 events)
from pre-historic times to the present. The current version of the database (4.8 of 31 December 2002)
covers the period from 47 B.C. to the present time and contains 1,428 entries in the tsunamigenic event
catalogue and almost 7,000 run-up heights provided with the exact geographical co-ordinates of the
observational sites. The tsunami and earthquake catalogues, collected within the HTDB Project, are
embedded inside a specially developed GIS-type graphic shell (WinHTDB) for easy data retrieval,
visualization and processing. The WinHTDB shell operates on Windows PC platforms with no additional
co-located software required. The full version of the database, including the textual descriptions of
tsunami manifestation (for about 240 events) and some additional reference information related to the
tsunami problem, is available on the CD-ROM. The Web-version of the database for the Pacific is
maintained by the NTL/ICMMG on the following Web site: http://tsun.sscc.ru/htdbpac. The web site
provides the user with screen forms for data search by a number of criteria, for their listing, sorting and
for several types of data processing (a histogram of tsunami occurrence, intensity-time and intensitymagnitude charts).
116
In his presentation, Dr Gusiakov stressed that in its present state, the HTDB contains almost all
historical data published in the earlier tsunami catalogues and can be considered as the most complete and
reliable historical tsunami dataset available in a digital domain. However, the process of the data
compilation and editing is still far from completion. A wealth of data exists in regional and local sources.
However, these data are scattered in numerous publications (magazines, newspapers, original reports,
etc.) most of them are unavailable outside the region of origin. Besides, quite often these data are
published in languages other than English. The further improvement of the database quality and
completeness can be done only with help of Regional or National Co-ordinators who are working in the
regions and have access to local sources of information. The list of the HTDB Regional Co-ordinators for
Pacific tsunamigenic regions is almost complete and was brought to the attention of the group. It is
available from the IOC ITSU web site.
117
To help the Regional Co-ordinators with the collection of these data, their conversion into the
digital format and association with bibliographical references, a specialized Windows application – PDM
(Parametric Data Manager) shell has been developed by the Novosibirsk Tsunami Laboratory (under the
IOC Contract 8762452). The PDM is a DBMS-type software written on Visual C ++ and intended for
easy and convenient collection and input of tsunami-related data and their further converting into the
relational database. The PDM can handle all the basic types of tsunami data and information as
parametric (source data, run-up observations, tide measurements) as descriptive (structured text,
bibliographical references, digitized images). Dr Gusiakov demonstrated some basic features of the PDM
software.
118
Further progress in the HTDB/PAC project implementation is related, first of all, to the recent
joint initiative of the ITIC (Honolulu), NGDC/WDC-SEG (Boulder) and the NTL (Novosibirsk) to
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 14
develop a plan to compile a unified and comprehensive Global Historical Tsunami Database (GTDB) that
will be built by merging the two existing tsunami databases (Worldwide Tsunami Database of the NGDC
and the Historical Tsunami Database (HTDB) of the NTL) with further input from the HTDB Regional
Co-ordinators for the Pacific on the historical data locally and regionally available (see also Agenda Item
7.3).
119
Speaking about the further development of the of the WinHTDB graphic shell, Dr Gusiakov
mentioned a possible extension of its functions by including a new software block for fast calculation of
Tsunami Travel Times (TTT). This numerical algorithm was first developed for the Caribbean and South
America regions. After some modification, it can be easily incorporated in the current version of the
WinHTDB graphic shell for the Pacific allowing to calculate and plot the TTT maps as for the whole
Pacific as for any selected area.
120
Dr Gusiakov also informed the Group about the plans on the further development of the
WinHTDB graphic shell. A new, completely re-worked version of the shell will be developed by the NTL
programmers based on the powerful programming language C++, using the latest versions of
commercially available instrumental tools like ASP.NET, OpenGL and MS SQL Server DBMS The new
shell will be based upon the full 3D visualization of maps and data, support different DB formats (such as
flat files, MS Access, DBASE, MS SQL Server, Oracle, etc.), support Web-based access to the data with
the same level of mapping support as stand-alone Windows application. Hopefully, a beta-version of the
new HTDB shell will be ready in two years from now and be presented at the ITSU-XX for evaluation.
121
The Group commended Dr Gusiakov for his hard work during the past 8 years on this very
valuable product.
122
The Group gave its full support for the planned further development of the HTDB/PAC Project
with special emphasis on (i) improvement of data quality and completeness in the database, (ii)
integration of tsunami travel time module in the current version (4.8) of the HTDB graphic shell, and (iii)
development of a new version of the shell based on the new commercially available instrumental.
123
The Group further described the HTDB/PAC software as an excellent self-contained product
for providing convenient on-site access to the large volume of historical tsunami data in the Pacific for
Member States.
124
Discussions on the co-operation between NTL and ITIC on the development of the Global
Historical Tsunami Database (GTDB) are reported on under Agenda Item 7.3.
4.
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
4.1
ITSU TRAINING PROGRAMME
125
The ITIC Director, Dr Laura Kong, introduced Document IOC/ITSU-XIX/12 containing the
results of a survey done to assess the value of the ITSU Training Programme (ITP), formerly named the
Visiting Experts Programme (VEP). The Survey was carried out in response to an IOC/ITSU-XVIII
request from Member States (para. 92 of the ITSU-XVIII Summary Report) and the Officers to determine
whether former participants had remained in the tsunami field and could thus serve as resources for
national and regional tsunami probleMs
126
The ITIC Director provided a brief historical summary of the ITSU Training Programme,
including its content, duration, frequency and country participation, and followed with a summary of the
results from the brief 5-question survey. It was noted that a total of 39 experts had participated in the
Programme since its inception in 1974, but that only 14 of the participants responded to the survey. Of
these, 13 indicated they were still involved in an oceanographic, geophysical, or meteorological field of
work. The poor response, in part due to ITIC’s inability to locate the person’s current address, is an
indicator that many of the former participants may not be working in the field anymore. The possible
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 15
pool of former VEP trainees that could assist by serving as tsunami resource people for national and
regional tsunami problems thus appears to be relatively small. Nevertheless, upon completion of the
Programme, VEP/ITP alumni should be equipped to serve as tsunami resources within their countries and
regions. ITIC will maintain a list of active ITP alumni along with their work specialty and experience
who can be contacted, and will continue to serve in co-operation with these individuals as information
resources on international and national tsunami probleMs The ITIC Director noted however, that the lack
of available VEP alumni means that ITSU will need to utilize more extensively its human resources in
Member States with active tsunami hazard mitigation programmes. These individuals, along with the
ITIC generally, would make up a second pool of individuals available for consultation. Dr Kong
requested the Group to set aside funding on a continual basis to support the travel of these experts to those
Member States requesting assistance. The consultations and other tsunami mitigation efforts would be
conducted under the proposed ITSU Training Programme – International (ITP-International, Agenda Item
4.2), which would conduct in-country training for Member States.
127
During the intersessional period, the ITIC conducted the 2002 and 2003 ITP/VEP. The 2002 VEP
was held 28 May–11 June 2002, for two scientists from South America, Ms Patricia Arreaga Vargas,
Tsunami Programme Co-ordinator at INOCAR, Instituto Oceanográfico de la Armada, Ecuador, and
Mr Sergio Rouillon Pardo, Logistics Chief at HIDRONAV, Dirección de Hidrografía y Navegación,
Peru. That year, the participants attended the Second Tsunami Symposium held at the East-West Center,
University of Hawaii, 28-31 May 2002, where they learned about current tsunami research and mitigation
efforts. The 2003 ITP was held 4-15 August 2003 for one seismologist from Indonesia, Mr Ibnu Purwana,
Head, Seismology and Tsunami Division, Meteorological and Geophysical Agency, and also the ITSU
National Contact, and one oceanographer from Chile, Ms Cecilia Zelaya Gomez, Sistema Nacional de
Alerta de Maremotos (SNAM), Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada de Chile (SHOA).
In both programmes, there was an increased focus on how to prepare for the local or regional tsunami
threat; specific activities included discussions on the operations of the local tsunami warning system with
PTWC, and visits to the Hawaii State Civil Defense and Hawaii County Civil Defense agencies.
128
In recent years, ITP participants have spent about 40% of their time learning about the
international and local tsunami warning systems directly from the PTWC or ITIC, about 30% learning
about the local tsunami warning system as carried out by State and County Emergency Agencies, and
about 30% in discussions with experts on tsunami hazard assessment and mitigation (inundation mapping
and wave forecasting, public education and awareness programmes, and the conduct of post-tsunami
surveys). It should be noted that the time devoted to observing operations at the Pacific Tsunami
Warning Center has always been a major aspect of the VEP/ITP, and that in recent years, the ITIC has
worked closely with the PTWC to co-ordinate the most efficient presentation of the background material
and demonstration of the operations. Currently, the annual Programme takes place over a 2-week time
period. The ITIC Director noted, however, that with this amount of time, the participants are only able to
gain a broad introduction to the many aspects of the tsunami warning system; in-depth treatments and
hands-on training have been sacrificed in favour of subject breadth. Moreover, in recent years in
response to participants’ requests and that of ICG/ITSU-XVIII Action Sheet, para. 92, the Programme has
begun to place an equal emphasis on both the international and the regional/local tsunami warning
systems, and additionally on its operational integration with the local emergency management agencies.
The inclusion of this additional curriculum without an increase in the length of the Programme has had
the effect of reducing the amount of time spent on each of the different aspects of tsunami warning.
129
The ITIC Director invited input from Member States on how to better improve the Programme.
She stated that, if no reduction in the scope of the ITP curriculum occurs, the future ITSU Training
Programme duration should be increased to at least 2.5 to 3 weeks, with the ITIC budget increased
accordingly. At the same time, she recommended that each ITP should pair participants with similar
needs and experience levels so that the ITP can be tailored each year to result in the maximum benefit for
the participants. With only a limited amount of time, some topics can then be omitted, and others added to
best fit the needs of the participants.
130
The Group decided to increase the duration of the ITSU Training Programme sessions to three
weeks (15 working days), taking into consideration the increased requests for local/regional tsunami
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
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warning and hazard mitigation coverage, as well as the differences in the background of participants. The
Group decided to maintain the frequency of one course per year for 2-3 students.
131
The Group noted with regret that many trained experts appear to be no longer involved in
tsunami-related activities.
4.2
TRAINING COURSES (EXPERT LEVEL)
132
The ITIC Director, Dr Laura Kong, introduced this Agenda item by describing the 2002 and 2003
trips by Mr Emilio Lorca, Head of the SNAM, Chile, and the ITIC Director as Experts traveling to
Ecuador and Colombia, and Indonesia respectively, to provide tsunami and tsunami hazard mitigation
training and briefings. Additionally, ITIC was able to fund an additional request by INOCAR (Ecuador)
for training in TIME through the ITP. In January-February 2003, Ms Patricia Arreaga Vargas, a VEP
2002 participant, spent one month with Dr Modesto Ortiz of CICESE, Mexico, working on the project
“Tsunami Prevention and Mitigation Plan for Esmeraldas, Ecuador”. The development of evacuation
maps for this city was a recommendation resulting from the Tsunami Expert visit by Mr Lorca.
Similarly, in conjunction with the ITIC Director’s participation at the meeting ‘In Memoriam of 120 years
Krakatau Eruption-Tsunami and Lesson Learned from Large Tsunami ', in memorial of 120 years of
Krakatau Eruption, held in Jakarta and Anyer, Indonesia, 26–29 August 2003, the ITIC Director provided
a one-day training to Directors of the Meteorological and Geophysical Agency’s Regional Seismic
Centers. The training curriculum consisted of presentation modules on the science of tsunamis,
mitigation, the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific and the roles and operations of ITSU, the PTWC,
and the ITIC, and regional and local tsunami warning systems and their integration with local emergency
agencies and services, and mitigation efforts involving risk assessment and public education and
preparedness programmes. The curriculum used by the ITIC will be further developed in the coming year
and made available for comment and improvement. Upon completion, the training modules will be made
available in multiple languages.
133
The Group decided to establish a “Pool of Experts” to travel to Member States to provide
training and expert consultation on tsunamis and tsunami mitigation (risk assessment, warning,
preparedness) to emergency managers and other government personnel. The Group decided to initially
include in the “pool”, the ITIC Director and Associate Director, and as applicable, ITP/VEP alumni from
the concerned region to assist. However, the Group stressed that the decision to send an expert to a
Member State should be balanced against sending students to an ITP course at ITIC as the funds for the
“expert pool” missions will need to come from the ITP budget.
134
The Delegate of Australia informed the Group that the WMO Tropical Cyclone Programme had
established a similar “mentor” Programme that had proved to be very useful.
135
Dr Kong further reported that ITIC’s experience in August 2003, in which the ITP-International
training to Indonesian government officials occurred one week after the end of the ITP-Hawaii training
attended by Mr Ibnu Purwana, the ITSU National Contact, proved to be a very effective means for
intensively focusing on tsunami and information technology transfer. In this case, Mr Purwana was able
to gain experience and information from the PTWC and local civil defence officials in Hawaii, which was
then followed by the ITIC Director’s visit to reinforce those principles learned in Hawaii in his home
country. At the same time, the ITIC Director was able to gather information and assess the tsunami
mitigation capacity of Indonesia, and discuss with them how ITIC might better serve their needs.
136
Based on this experience, the ITIC Director recommended establishing international component
to the ITSU Training Programme, and further recommended that the ITP-Hawaii and ITP-International
programmes focus on the same country or region each year if possible. The ITIC Director noted that this
could take the form of an ITP-Hawaii programme followed by an in-country visit by an Expert through
the ITP-International, or vice-versa; depending on the time interval between the two programmes, the
advantage of the latter would be that it would provide an opportunity to better identify candidates for the
ITP-Hawaii that followed, and also allow the ITP-Hawaii training to better meet the needs of the Member
States.
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 17
137
The Tsunami Expert could be from the “Pool of Experts”, or be an Expert from the region, and
would utilize the prepared training curriculum with modifications tailored for the region. This
programme will provide a means for information dissemination to a larger audience. Thus, the ITPInternational would provide in-country training, and ITP-Hawaii would provide training through the ITIC
in Honolulu. The enhancement proposed by ITIC is to institutionalize this programme, thereby making it
a regular and annually funded programme administered by ITIC and funded by the IOC/ITSU.
138
The Group agreed that the conduct of international training was a valuable new initiative, and
agreed to establish the ITSU Training Programme – International (ITP-International). The Group noted
however that, due to the limited financial resources of the ITSU programme, that it may not be possible to
organize both the ITP-Hawaii and ITP-International training events on an annual basis, solely with
IOC/ITSU funds.
139
The Delegate of the USA informed the Group that his country will be able to assist through
funding the travel cost of the ITIC Director to conduct at least two combined “ITP-International training
and Member States needs assessments” efforts in 2004, and he invited other ICG/ITSU Member States to
co-sponsor such initiatives in order to enable the conducting of at least three Member State visits to
establish baselines for capacity building.
140
The Group requested the IOC Secretariat to modify the Circular Letter sent to Member States
annually (which invites Member States to nominate candidates for the ITP) to inform them of the ITPHawaii and ITP-International, and to also request Member States to inform the IOC of planned national
and regional ITSU workshops since these would be opportunities to conduct the ITP-International.
141
The Group was then addressed by Dr Robin Falconer on behalf of the Circum-Pacific Council
(CPC). The Circum-Pacific Council is an international, non-governmental association of earth scientists
and engineers who represent industry, academia, government and other organizations and institutions.
The Council was founded in 1972 by Michael T. Halbouty.
142
The mission of the Council is to foster international and cross-sector communication for
sustaining earth resources and undertaking risk in the Pacific Region. The Council’s goals include:
improving knowledge of earth resources and natural hazards in the Pacific Region; increasing
collaboration among geologists, hydrologists, biologists, oceanographers and related scientists; and
disseminating earth science information through maps, publications, symposia and workshops. The
Council operates under an international Board of Directors.
143
Over the past quarter century, the Council has sponsored 5 Pacific-wide conferences, 6 regional
symposia and 14 workshops around the Pacific; compiled and published 51 regional geoscience and
resource maps with accompanying explanatory booklets. The Circum-Pacific Council products are now
being published in both digital and print form by co-operating organizations engaged in specific topics.
Several recent examples include:
-
HAZPAC — an interactive digital database characterizing the HAZards of the PACific,
published by the US Geological Survey;
-
Crowding the Rim: Global Consequences of Natural Hazards — an education module on
natural hazards and risk, published by Stanford University.
144
The Council has established a special project on Tsunami Education. This project is designed to
work with the Civil Defence and local authorities of coastal zones around the Pacific margin. Outcome
objectives include better education, improved warning systems, enhanced responder capability and more
prudent land use planning.
145
The Circum-Pacific Council does not have expertise in tsunamis but sees its role as facilitating
communication between existing groups and facilitating education programmes. The Circum-Pacific
Council would like to work with ITSU to see how tsunami education can be enhanced at the local level.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 18
Dr Robin Falconer (r.falconer@gns.cri.nz) is Chair of the Circum-Pacific Council Tsunami Project. He is
keen to work with ITSU individuals on an on-going basis.
146
The Group thanked the Circum-Pacific Council for their support of four participants to the
ITSU Workshop held prior to ITSU-XIX and to ITSU-XIX, and considered this as a concrete expression
of interest in collaboration with ITSU.
147
The Group strongly welcomed the co-operation between ICG/ITSU and the Circum-Pacific
Council and requested the IOC Secretariat to discuss with CPC ways and means to establish formal and
implementation levels of collaboration.
148
Because of the great similarities in the projects, the Group recommended that co-operation could
focus on designing a plan of training and education that best addresses the needs requested by Member
States.
149
The Group requested the IOC Secretariat, CPC, PTWC and ITIC to jointly work towards the
conduct of a tsunami session at the next SOPAC meeting in 2004 to raise awareness. The Group agreed
that this would also be an excellent occasion to organize a meeting of the intersessional working group on
the Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (see also Agenda Item 6.4).
4.3
PUBLIC EDUCATION
150
Dr Laura Kong introduced this Agenda Item. She recalled that through para. 84 of the ITSU-XVIII
Summary Report, Member States were requested to consider the declaration of special time periods for
tsunami awareness activities, and to include these activities in their National Reports and summarize their
experiences at ITSU-XIX.
151
Through para. 90 of the ITSU-XVIII Summary report, Member States were requested to
incorporate tsunami phenomenon and tsunami hazard knowledge into the general national education
programmes, and to include these activities in their National Reports and summarize their experiences at
ITSU-XIX.
152
Through para. 95 of the ITSU-XVIII Summary Report, Member States were requested to provide
the ITIC and IOC Secretariat with information on national training activities and copies of educational
and awareness material. Only a few documents were received by the ITIC, mostly from countries that
participated in the ITP Programme and the USA. Information on the availability of additional
contributions were requested to be included in their National Reports, and summaries given at ITSU-XIX.
153
With regard to Public Awareness, the Delegate of the United States reported on the conduct of
successful tsunami awareness months that were held in Alaska and Hawaii to commemorate the
anniversary of the 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake and tsunami that caused significant devastation in
both states. Tsunami Awareness Month is held annually every April in Hawaii. Activities have included
media briefings, educational television shows on earthquakes and tsunamis and tsunami preparedness that
were viewed live in classrooms throughout the State, informational booths at ocean awareness festivals,
evacuation drills for schools located in the tsunami evacuation zone, information sessions at public
libraries, tours of the PTWC, and conduct of tsunami response exercises. In 2003, the tsunami exercise
co-ordinated by the Hawaii State Civil Defence, and involving the PTWC, country emergency agencies
and other government and non-government agencies, practiced the tsunami response to the issuance of a
local tsunami warning issued by the PTWC.
154
A few delegates reported that, although tsunami awareness is an important issue, it often ranks
low on the curriculum of schools, as other disaster awareness is considered to be more relevant due to the
low occurrence of tsunamis in those countries. Exceptions are countries like Papua New Guinea, Fiji and
Indonesia due to tsunami events that happened in recent history.
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 19
155
The Delegate of Fiji informed the Group that the Fijian Ministry of Education has incorporated
earthquake studies in the primary school (year 8) curriculum (tsunami phenomena are also included). A
Natural Disaster Awareness Week is organized in which tsunami awareness and preparedness are a major
part of it. Interviews and talk shows are broadcast on radio and television. During the second week of
September 2003, a tsunami workshop was organized in Suva, Fiji that commemorated the 14/9/53 Suva
Earthquake and Tsunami that devastated the town of Suva. Fiji also conducted a Tsunami Evacuation
Exercise for the occupants of two of the high-rise buildings in Suva, and three schools in downtown Suva.
156
The Delegate of Indonesia informed the Group that in 2004 a workshop will be organized in his
country to commemorate the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in East Java in July 1994 and killed
160 people.
157
The Delegate of Papua New Guinea informed the Group that the 1998 Aitape Tsunami that struck
his country and killed more than 2,200 people has been an eye opener and a lot of work has been carried
out since then to raise awareness for tsunamis.
158
The Delegate of Peru provided a CD-Rom with videos, animation, charts and information about
the Tsunami Warning System of Peru; they have also printed and handed out an information booklet
about tsunamis.
159
Referring to discussions at the last ITSU Officers meeting, the Group requested Member States
to send to ITIC any PowerPoint presentation they may have about ITSU (aimed at the general public), for
posting on the ITIC web site for download.
160
The Group requested Member States to send copies of their tsunami Public Education material to
ITIC. ITIC informed the Group that all public education material prepared by ITIC is available to all
Member States in printed or electronic format.
5.
ITSU PUBLICATIONS AND AWARENESS TOOLS
5.1
TSUNAMI NEWSLETTER
161
Dr Laura Kong, ITIC Director, introduced this Agenda Item. During the intersessional period, the
ITIC published the Tsunami Newsletter bi-monthly, producing altogether 11 newsletters averaging 12
pages in length over a 23-month period. The newsletters were produced in-house in full colour. Hard
copy circulation continues to be about 350 in about 40 countries; with the remainder (about 400)
receiving e-mail notifications of newsletter download availability from the ITIC USA web site
(http://www.prh.noaa.gov/itic/library/pubs/newsletters/nl_html/nl_2000s.html). The electronic files range
in size from 500 KB to 5 MB depending on the graphical and/or photographic complexity in the issue,
and are formatted in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Each issue contains a table listing all
earthquakes greater than, or equal to, a magnitude 6.5 that caused the PTWC to issue a tsunami
information bulletin, watch, or warning, tsunami information for earthquakes that generated tsunamis,
news from PTWC and ITIC, ITSU business progress including changes in ITSU National Contacts,
meeting summaries, upcoming conferences, and starting in 2002, feature articles on the different tsunami
warning systems currently in operation. In an effort to provide greater content on international tsunami
activities, the ITIC Director has been successfully soliciting contributions from Member States, and
wishes to encourage all Member States to voluntarily contribute articles and tsunami programme news for
publication in the Tsunami Newsletter.
162
Dr Kong stressed that it continues to take a considerable amount of time to collect content,
design, and then produce the Newsletter, taking an average of about two weeks per issue for design,
layout, editing, printing, and distribution by the ITIC Director and her staff. With the publication
schedule being every two months, this often leaves little time between issues to concentrate on other
matters requiring ITIC attention, and in several instances, month-long delays have resulted because of
conflicts with meetings, other reporting requirements, and/or other official travel.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 20
The Group commended ITIC on the excellent quality of the Newsletter.
163
164
The Group decided to reduce the frequency of the Newsletter to 4 issues per year. The Group
further instructed ITIC to henceforth publish time-sensitive material (announcements of conferences,
tsunami events, etc.) on the ITSU web site (hosted by IOC). In this regard, the Technical Secretary informed
the Group that the ITSU web site hosted by IOC has an in-built calendar system that can be used to
advertise conferences and other tsunami related events. The Group instructed ITIC to publish short reports
of ITSU meetings and training courses in the ITSU Newsletter.
5.2
TSUNAMI INFORMATION KIT
165
Dr Laura Kong introduced this Agenda Item. She informed the Group that the finalization and
printing of the Tsunami Information Kit (TIK) in time for distribution at ITSU-XIX was not realized due to
delays in editing and acquisition of high-resolution graphics and photographs for the TIK. The TIK was
renamed as such from its former name as the Tsunami Press Kit to better describe the product’s contents, its
intent, and its target audience. During 2002–2003, a consultant was contracted to research and write
additional descriptions on topics that were not adequately covered by the previous draft, and also to collect
high-resolution files of images that would be used in the final version of the TIK. At the Officers Meeting
in February 2003, the consultant presented a Draft that was much longer than could be accommodated
within the existing budget. As a result, the ITIC Director and the PTWC Director are presently working
together to review and improve upon the consultant’s work by re-organizing and combining the sections to
make the product clearer and more concise. This reduction in size is needed to meet the required
specifications of the project. ITIC is also identifying and acquiring graphics, photographs and mareographs
for insertion into the textual descriptions. At the same time, the IOC is assisting in the creation of easily
modified templates for each page, and an overall presentation binder or folder into which the loose-leaf
pages can be inserted.
166
Dr Kong recalled that the Officers, during their 2003 Session, had agreed that the TIK would
consist of about 40 pages covering ITSU, the top 10 tsunami questions, the largest tsunamis and their
impacts, the international tsunami warning system, preparedness, safety, and lists of publications, addresses,
and web sites. The TIK will be designed to permit the easy insertion of additional pages such as those
created by Member States to address their country’s own tsunami threats. It is anticipated that the TIK will
be completed and distributed during the next intersessional period.
167
The Delegate of the Russian Federation informed the Group that substantial parts of the draft TIK
had been translated into Russian.
168
The ITIC Associate Director, speaking on behalf of Chile, re-iterated his country’s offer to assist
with the design and printing of the TIK.
169
The Group noted the progress with the Tsunami Information Kit and instructed ITIC and the
IOC Secretariat to ensure that the product is completed by the January 2005 Officers meeting. The
Group requested that at least 200 copies be printed and distributed.
5.3
170
TSUNAMI GLOSSARY
CmDr Rodrigo Nuñez, ITIC Associate Director, introduced this Agenda Item. He reported that
SHOA (Chile) had prepared the final English, French and Spanish PDF versions of the Tsunami Glossary
that are included on the CD-ROM made available to all Member States at the ITSU-XIX Session and
which also includes all the electronic documents and publications available on-line from the ITIC website
(Newsletters, Master Plan, textbooks, etc). He gave a brief demonstration of the CD-ROM to the Group.
He showed that all ITSU Newsletters (starting in 1964) are available from the CD-ROM. With regard to
the school textbooks, he informed the Group that the Spanish versions have been printed in colour. A new
product was also developed by SHOA: a PC-based animated cartoon that describes how to survive a
tsunami. Although currently available only in Spanish, it can be translated into other languages as well.
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 21
171
CmDr Nuñez announced furthermore that in March 2004, SHOA will print hard copies of both
the Spanish and English versions of the Glossary. SHOA will fund part of the cost of printing.
172
The Group congratulated SHOA for the substantial work carried out developing the CD-ROM
that was described as an impressive, high-quality reference and educational tool.
173
The Chair informed the Group that France has prepared the final French version and provided all
materials (background, pictures, figures) to Chile for use in the English and Spanish versions. In addition,
France printed 1,200 copies of the French version and provided 200 of these to Canada.
The Delegate of the Republic of Korea expressed his interest in translating the glossary into
174
Korean.
175
The Delegate of Canada, referring to the assistance provided 10 years ago with the translation of
the school text books from Spanish into English, offered to provide support for translation of teaching
guides and other products.
176
The Group invited Member States to translate all ITSU documentation for public and expert use
into their national and local languages.
5.4
ITSU WEBSITES
177
CmDr Rodrigo Nuñez, ITIC Associate Director reported to the Group about the new structure of
the Tsunami-related web sites hosted by IOC, ITIC-USA and ITIC-Chile, protocols for posting
information and maintenance responsibilities. He informed the Group that the ITIC-Chile site will be
closed down in December 2003. Files will be transferred to the ITSU (IOC, Paris) and ITIC-USA sites
before the closing date of the ITIC-Chile.
178
He explained that the ITSU-IOC site targets experts, providing technical information (history,
structure, membership, activities, formal documents). The site enables members to post material. The
system has a ‘content informer’ function sending an e-mail to members when new content has been
added. The site also contains all ITSU-related technical documents and reports.
179
The ITIC-USA site aims at the general public and contains the Master Plan, photo gallery,
newsletters, reading list, safety rules, post-tsunami field guide, Great Waves, fact sheets, and other
content aimed at creating awareness.
180
The Group thanked SHOA in general, and CmDr Rodrigo Nuñez in particular, for developing
and hosting the ITIC-Chile website for many years.
181
The Group thanked ITIC-USA and the IOC Secretariat for hosting the ITIC-USA and ITSUIOC sites and instructed them to co-ordinate content development of the two sites, clearly keeping in
mind the two target audiences.
182
The Group requested to provide access to tsunami bulletin board logs through the web site(s)
and tasked ITIC to investigate the possibilities.
183
The Group requested Member States to register on the ITSU web site hosted by IOC
(http://ioc.unesco.org/itsu).
5.5
184
OTHER
The Delegate of Ecuador informed the Group of Ecuador’s Tsunami Bulletin. This product
contains information about tsunami events, related activities and information on tsunami mitigation.
Ms Arreaga Vargas expressed thanks to ITIC for assisting with the printing of the product.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 22
6.
REGIONAL AND OTHER TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEMS
6.1
NORTHWEST PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
185
Mr Noritake Nishide (Japan) introduced this Agenda Item. He recalled the Earthquake that occurred
on 25 September 2003 in Hokkaido, Japan. He then proceeded to provide information on the tsunami
warning centre based at JMA and its activities. In Document IOC/ITSU-XIX/13, Japan explained the
present status of technical improvement of determining earthquake location using LISS (Live Internet
Seismic Server) data. Japan also presented the quick determination method for Mw using P wave
according to the same document.
186
Mr Nishide explained Japan’s quantitative tsunami forecast method for local and distant tsunami
as described in the National Report of Japan, and provided information on Japan’s tide gauge network for
tsunami observation in detail as information for Sea Level Enhancement discussed under Agenda item
3.6.
187
Responding to a question from Australia, Japan explained about the reliability of LISS for the
operational tsunami warning system as follows: there are almost no problems because data of about 20
stations can usually be used for hypocenter determination of large earthquakes even if some stations may
drop, but, it is not appropriate for the operational tsunami warning system to rely only on LISS because
LISS uses the Internet.
188
For the purpose of utilizing seismic data in the Philippines and Indonesia, Japan proposed that the
Group request the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) to allow the Group to use the
data of seismic network of CTBTO in real-time basis for tsunami warning.
189
The Chair gave clarification on this issue explaining that the data of auxiliary seismic stations of
one country are used by that country for real-time warning purposes. For example, the New Caledonia
auxiliary seismic station is processed by the French TREMORS system, and published on the EMSC web
site.
190
The Group regretted that there are currently no seismic stations available for tsunami warning
close to the Philippines and Indonesia, although data are needed in that region. It was noted however, that
there are 2 CTBTO (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization) stations in the Philippines and 6 in
Indonesia. The Group requested the countries owning the stations to make them available for tsunami and
earthquake warning purposes.
191
The Delegate of Fiji informed the Group that his country has auxiliary seismic stations for CTBTO,
which will soon be satellite-enabled.
192
The Delegate of Indonesia informed the Group that his country has 6 auxiliary seismic stations. The
data from these stations can be contributed to Japan.
6.2
193
IAS TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
This Agenda Item was introduced by Dr Charles McCreery. He recalled that ITSU-XVII had
reviewed a proposal for an IAS tsunami warning system. The Thirty-fifth Session of IOC Executive Council
had reviewed the proposal and had recommended that “the Workshop on the IAS Project on the development
of the Tsunami Warning System in the Caribbean be arranged with the participation of experts from the
Pacific and Caribbean region” in order to review the original project proposal of the IOCARIBE Tsunami
Steering Group of Experts and provide comments. This had led to the organization of a Workshop in
Mayaguez, Puerto Rico from 19-21 December 2000. A draft version of the proposal was prepared and
subsequently discussed at ITSU-XVIII where a working group was established, tasked to address
outstanding issues. The proposal was then submitted to IOCARIBE-VII (Veracruz, Mexico, 25-28 February
2002). At that meeting the proposal was strongly endorsed but no funding was identified. Some additional
work has been done to try implementing some parts of the proposal at the US national level.
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 23
194
The Delegate of the USA informed the Group that the US National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation
Programme, consistent with the US NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) Strategic plan (20002005) has identified expansion of the US Tsunami Warning Programme in the Caribbean, specifically for
Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Although effective funding has not been received, PTWC and
WC/ATWC agreed, in a January 2003 meeting at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, to provide
tsunami warning support to these islands through the NWS forecast office, Puerto Rico. Lack of a robust
water level network hinders the ability to provide timely warning cancellations. Puerto Rico has made
significant progress in training disaster management personnel and the local population on the tsunami
threat and preparations. Funding requests for a more complete tsunami warning capability for the area
continue to be reflected in the NTHMP requirements.
195
The Group noted the information provided by the speakers and expressed its appreciation to the
USA for their continued efforts in this area.
6.3
196
197
CENTRAL AMERICA PACIFIC COAST TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEMS
Mr Claudio Gutiérrez Huete (Nicaragua) introduced this Agenda Item. He informed the Group that
the six countries of Central America and CEPREDENAC (Coordination Center for the Prevention of
Natural Disasters in Central America) have decided to start the process for a Regional Tsunami Warning
System for the Central American Region. Nicaragua received the assignment to formulate the proposal,
and this proposal was completed and presented to the Executive Secretary of CEPREDENAC on 24
September 2003. The proposal has been presented by CEPREDENAC to other Central American
Countries in order to obtain comments, suggestions and inputs; and then to formulate the final version of
the Central American Regional Tsunami Warning System, at the end of this year.
The system would have the following components:
(i)
A Co-ordination Council with two representatives from each country;
(ii)
National Seismic Centers, in each country, with broad band stations and software
(TREMORS);
(iii) A regional communication network based on the Internet, satellite systems and radio links;
(iv)
Special “Units” in the National Systems for Disaster Prevention in each country, to transmit
the tsunami warning for the coastal population; and
(v)
A national communication system with the coastal population in each country.
198
Mr Gutiérrez Huete noted that it is not the intention to have a single Warning Center for the whole
Central American Region. Each National Seismic Center will work in a very co-ordinated manner. The
system will be multi-national and have redundancies. Sea-level stations will be improved in order to
transmit in real-time to the PTWC.
199
The Executive Secretary of CEPREDENAC will present the official request for assistance to the
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, to the PTWC, ITIC and the Chilean
Government, probably next year. The main contact of this project is the Executive Secretary of
CEPREDENAC, based in Panama.
200
Mr Gutiérrez Huete, on behalf of CEPREDENAC, invited the ICG/ITSU to comment on the
proposal.
201
The Delegate of El Salvador added that in some of the Central American countries many
instruments are already in place and possibly all that is required is the training of local staff to gather and
analyze the data generated by the instruments.
202
The Delegate of Chile, referring to the mission of Mr Emilio Lorca to Member States in Central
America, expressed Chile’s commitment to continue such support as required.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 24
203
The Group considered that the Central American Tsunami Warning System proposal will serve as
an excellent example for the planned Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean warning system.
204
The Group stressed the need to foresee multiple warning centres to provide the necessary
redundancy in case of damage to warning centres after earthquakes. The Group also called on the
participating Member States to ensure effective communication links to send and receive warning messages.
205
Responding to the request of CEPREDENAC to ICG/ITSU for a review of the proposal, the
Group decided to establish an intersessional working group. To define its terms of reference, the Group
established a sessional working group, chaired by Nicaragua and including ITIC, PTWC, France, Chile,
Nicaragua and El Salvador as members.
The Group adopted Recommendation ITSU-XIX.2.
206
6.4
207
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AND INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
Mr Ibnu Purwana (Indonesia) introduced this Agenda Item. He recalled that the idea of initiating
the establishment of a Regional Tsunami Warning System in the Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean was
raised at ITSU-XVI (Lima, Peru, 23–26 September 1997). Now the issue is raised with a more clearly
defined background of considerations:
(i)
Due to its tectonic setting which is located at the junction of three major plates of the Pacific,
Eurasian, and Indo-Australian, and one minor plate of the Philippines, Indonesia has a high
activity in earthquakes and tsunamis. Historical data show that many tsunamis in Indonesia are
destructives and have affected neighboring countries such as Australia, Papua New Guinea, the
Philippines, etc.
(ii)
The Meteorological and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia currently operates:
a.
28 telemetry vertical component short period seismometers with real-time monitoring and
semi-automatic processing at 5 Regional Centers and at it’s Headquarters in Jakarta;
b.
30 non-telemetry vertical component short period seismographs;
c.
11 non-telemetry 3-component short period seismographs;
d.
22 non-telemetry broadband seismographs, jointly operated under JISNET (Japan –
Indonesia Seismic Network);
e.
6 telemetry broadband seismographs of CTBTO Seismic Auxiliary Stations (3 are under
construction).
The Indonesia sea-level network consisting of 54 tide gauge stations is operated by the National
Co-ordinating Agency for Survey and Mapping (Bakosurtanal or Badan Koordinasi Survei dan
Pemetaan Nasional). The main purpose of the network operation is for coastline mapping.
(iii)
In the year 2003–2004, the IMGEP (Improvement of Meteorological and Geophysical Equipment
Project) funded by IDB (Islamic Development Bank) will add 27 broad band seismometers to be
integrated with the existing six CTBTO Seismic Auxiliary Stations and some selected JISNET
stations to form a National Seismic Network with a real-time monitoring and automatic
processing at Jakarta Headquarters.
(iv)
As recommended by ITSU-XVIII, the International Seminar/Workshop on Tsunami “In
Memoriam of 120 years Krakatau Eruption-Tsunami and Lesson Learned from Large Tsunami”
was conducted in Jakarta and Anyer 26–29 August 2003. One of the workshop’s
recommendations is the establishment of the National Tsunami Warning System based on
existing national seismic and sea-level networks, real-time telemetry and automated data
processing and evaluation, and reliable methods of warning dissemination, taking into account
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 25
the experience resulting from the operation of existing regional and national tsunami warning
system in the Pacific. The system should be designed so as to permit the future expansion of its
Area of Responsibility to include tsunami warnings to other parts of Southwest Pacific and Indian
Ocean (the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, etc.)
208
The Group welcomed the efforts of Indonesia to establish a regional warning system for the
Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean, noting that this geographic region is currently not well covered by
ITSU/PTWC. The proposed regional warning system will be very useful for several countries.
The Delegate of Australia offered his country’s support for the establishment of such a warning
209
system.
210
The Delegate of Australia then raised the prospect of the extension of ITSU’s area of
geographical interests further westward, in support of the proposal to establish a tsunami warning service
in the Indian Ocean. The Secretariat advised that a decision of an IOC Governing Body would be required
to formally redefine ITSU’s Terms of Reference with respect to the area it covers, on advice from ITSU.
211
The Director of the PTWC advised it could assist in the detection of seismic events in the Indian
Ocean basin but the delays involved in confirming tsunami events would be too large for such an
arrangement to be viable in an on-going operational framework.
212
The Delegate of Australia flagged that he wished to further discuss under Agenda Item 7.5 the
coverage of ITSU in the context of how ITSU may relate to other global and regional programmes that
are now being managed and co-ordinated by the WMO/IOC Joint Technical Commission for
Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM).
213
The Group considered that it may be appropriate to expand the geographic focus of the ICG/ITSU
beyond the Pacific, provided that concerned Member States would express the need for such an expansion at
the IOC Governing Body level. This may be discussed during ITSU-XX.
214
The Group established a sessional working group to prepare a recommendation to establish an
inter-sessional working group that will study the establishment of a regional warning system for the
Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean. The sessional working group was Chaired by Indonesia and members
included Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Zealand, Japan, ITIC and PTWC.
The Group adopted Recommendation ITSU-XIX.4.
215
6.5
216
OTHER REGIONS
The Chair informed the Group on the current situation in Europe where in several European
countries (France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, UK...) research on tsunamis research continues. It essentially
focuses on seismic and landslide tsunami modeling, and also on historical and paleotsunami research.
7.
EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW ONES
7.1
CO-OPERATION WITH THE IUGG TSUNAMI COMMISSION
217
This Agenda Item was introduced by Dr V. Gusiakov, referring to Document IOC/ITSU-XIX/14
(Co-operation with the IUGG Tsunami Commission).
218
Dr V. Gusiakov, outgoing Chair of the IUGG Tsunami Commission (IUGG/TC) informed the
Group on the recent activity of the IUGG/TC with a focus on the joint IUGG-ICG/ITSU efforts. In the
inter-sessional period, the close co-operation with the IUGG Tsunami Commission continued in two main
areas: co-ordination of joint projects and conducting of joint workshops. In the first area the main efforts
were directed to the implementation of the HTDB/PAC Project. This joint IUGG/TC and ICG/ITSU
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 26
Project was launched in 1995 and intended to improve the cataloguing of historical tsunamis in the
Pacific by means of organizing them in the form of a parametric tsunami catalogue and a database. The
detailed report on the progress of the HTDB/PAC Project implementation was presented to the session
under Agenda Item 3.8.
219
With regard to joint workshops, Dr Gusiakov reported that in response to the decision of ITSUXVIII, the International Workshop “Local Tsunami Warning and Mitigation” was jointly organized by
the IUGG/TC and the ICG/ITSU in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, between 10 and 15 September
2002. The Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and the
Kamchatka Seismological Department of Geophysical Service of the RAS were the local organizers. Dr J.
Bourgeois (USA) and Dr M. Nosov served as lead co-conveners of the Workshop. The main purpose of
the Workshop was to consider the state-of-the-art of the local tsunami problem and to discuss
fundamental and applied studies directed at the reduction of a local tsunami hazard. As one of the most
active seismic- and tsunami-prone areas in the Pacific, having a long history of historical and paleotsunamis and complemented by interesting environmental features, Kamchatka was an appropriate place
for the international tsunami community members to discuss the local tsunami problem. Additionally, the
workshop was held in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the 1952 Great Kamchatka Earthquake
and Tsunami.
220
Over 100 scientists (42 registered participants) from 12 countries (Bulgaria, Canada, France,
French Polynesia, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia, Turkey, USA)
attended the Workshop. A special student session, that was unanimously recognized as of a high scientific
quality by all the workshop participants, was included in the Workshop programme to facilitate the
participation of young scientists. The Workshop was followed by a one-day geological field excursion
led by Dr J. Bourgeois (USA) and Dr T. Pinegina (Russia). Participants were familiarized with paleotsunami methodology and field practice. At several coastal locations on the Khalatyrskiy Beach, 30 km
northeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the geological traces of the 1737 and 1952 Kamchatka tsunamis
were demonstrated.
221
The proceedings of the Workshop were published (both in English and in Russian) by the
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology as a volume: International Workshop “Local Tsunami Warning and
Mitigation”, 10–15 September 2002, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, Proceedings, Shirshov Institute
of Oceanology, Moscow, 2002, 210 pp. The short report and Recommendations of the Workshop is added
as Annex VI.
222
Secondly, the International Workshop “In Memoriam of 120 years Krakatau Eruption-Tsunami
and Lesson Learned from Large Tsunami“ was held in Jakarta and Anyer, Indonesia between 26 and 29
August 2003. The local arrangements of the workshop were made by the Meteorological and Geophysical
Agency of Indonesia (BMG) and the Department of Marine Affairs and Fishery (DKP) in co-operation
with several other related government agencies, as well as with the IUGG/TC and the ICG/ITSU.
Dr Fauzi and Mr C. Prasetya served as the main local contacts during the workshop arrangements and
procedures.
223
The Workshop was attended by more than 100 Indonesian participants representing different
government agencies and institutions dealing with natural hazard monitoring and prevention, as well as
by international experts from Japan, USA, Germany and Russia. As a result of the Workshop, the list of
recommendations was discussed and adopted. In its full version, the list will be presented to the ITSUXIX by the National Contact of Indonesia. Here we just mention Recommendation 2, as directly related
to the long-term ITSU plan for the establishment of the Regional Tsunami Warning System in the
Southwest Pacific, that stresses the need for the creation of the National Tsunami Warning System in
Indonesia and strongly supports the initiation of a concerted effort among national and international
institutions to co-ordinate and co-operate in the provision of early warnings for regional tsunamis.
224
The Workshop was followed by a boat trip to the Krakatau complex to see the remnants of the
Krakatau volcano and a new volcanic island (Anak Krakatau) continuously growing since its emergence
in 1929 in the center of the caldera formed as a result of the 1883 eruption. During the excursion, the
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 27
participants were briefed on the geological and tectonic settings of the area, the history of the Krakatau
volcano and its recent activities.
225
Dr V. Gusiakov highlighted one of the recommendations that concerns the plans of Indonesia on
the creation of its National Tsunami Warning System based on already available seismic and mareograph
networks and processing facilities existing in their operational center located in the Headquarters of the
Geophysical and Meteorological Agency in Jakarta. It is important that this system is designed based on
experience resulting from the operation of existing regional and national tsunami warning systems in the
Pacific to permit its future expansion to cover other parts of the Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean
(Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea).
226
Thirdly, Dr Gusiakov reported on the International Workshop "Tsunamis in the South and
Central Pacific - Research towards Preparedness and Mitigation” that was held in Wellington, New
Zealand on 25 and 26 September. It was the fourth workshop in a series of joint workshops organized by
the IUGG/TC and ICG/ITSU, and convened by Dr Viacheslav Gusiakov (Russia), Dr François Schindelé
(France), Ms Gaye Downes (New Zealand), and Mr Roy Walters (New Zealand).
227
Eighty-six participants from 18 countries attended the Workshop, many of the international
delegates who also attending the ICG/ITSU XIX Session. Thirty-one papers were presented orally,
ranging from overviews of regional vulnerability to tsunami, the Pacific historical tsunami record,
Pacific-wide and regional Tsunami Warning systems, and preparedness plans, as well as insights into
public awareness and preparedness in New Zealand and Washington, USA, tsunami modeling, paleotsunami research in New Zealand and submarine landslide identification and tsunami generation potential.
Eight posters were also presented. A presentation was given by Dr Robin Falconer, Vice-President
Oceania, Circum-Pacific Council (CPC) and Chairman, CPC Tsunami Special Project, on CPC’s
intention to sponsor tsunami education/preparedness projects in the Pacific. A two-hour interactive Panel
Discussion was held on “Tsunami Warning Response to a Magnitude 8.7 Chilean Earthquake”. The
discussion involved the directors from Chilean, French Polynesian, Japanese and Pacific Tsunami
Warning Centers, State or National Emergency Management officials from Hawaii and Washington,
USA, New Zealand and Australia, and Researchers from Washington, USA, and New Zealand.
228
Finally, Dr V. Gusiakov informed the Group about the last IUGG Tsunami Commission meeting
that was held last July in Sapporo, Japan in conjunction with XXth International Tsunami Symposium. In
this meeting, new Commission Officers were elected: Dr Kenji Satake (Japan) as Chair, Dr Frank
Gonzalez (USA) and Dr G. Papadopoulos (Greece) as Vice-Chairs, and Dr F. Imamura (Japan) as
Secretary. Two new members were incorporated in the Commission: Dr V. Titov from USA and Ms G.
Downes from New Zealand. The updated list of the current Commission membership can be found at
http://omzg.sscc.ru/tsulab/IUGGTCmembers.html. The full report on the IUGG/TC business meeting in
Sapporo can be obtained from http://omzg.sscc.ru/tsulab/IUGGTCrep2003.html.
229
The Group expressed its satisfaction with the long history of co-operation with IUGG and hoped
that this excellent collaboration will continue.
230
The Group proposed to organize the next Workshop back-to-back with the next ITSU Session
(see also Agenda Item 13).
The Delegate of Chile informed the Group that they were prepared to host the Workshop back-to-
231
back.
7.2
232
CO-OPERATION WITH ISDR
Mr Dimitri Travin of the IOC Secretariat introduced this Agenda Item. He reported that no formal
co-operation between ICG/ITSU and ISDR had been established yet, but that contact was made by the IOC
Secretariat with ISDR recently.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 28
233
The Delegate of Australia informed the group of the possibility of organizing a Tsunami Workshop
in conjunction with the next SOPAC conference in 2004 and suggested the support of ISDR be sought for
this event.
234
The Group requested the IOC Secretariat, in co-operation with Australia and Fiji, to urgently
approach ISDR and invite them to participate in the above-mentioned event.
235
The Group requested the IOC Secretariat to send the ITSU-XVIII and ITSU-XIX Summary
Reports to ISDR to inform them about the ITSU and IUGG programmes and activities.
7.3
WORLD DATA CENTRE, SOLID EARTH GEOPHYSICS DEVELOPMENTS
RELATED TO TSUNAMIS
236
Ms Paula Dunbar (USA) introduced this Agenda item. She explained that the World Data Center
for Solid Earth Geophysics is operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
National Geophysical Data Center (WDC/NGDC), Boulder, Colorado, USA. The WDC/NGDC has had
a major role in the post-event data collection (including the compilation, cataloguing, and synthesis) of all
available information on tsunami sources and effects to support modeling, engineering, planning and
educational purposes. Currently, Ms Dunbar heads the Tsunami Programme at the WDC/NGDC, having
assumed this position upon the retirements of Mr Jim Lander, Ms Pat Lockridge and Mr Lowell
Whiteside.
237
Ms Dunbar then gave an overview of the products and services provided by WDC/NGDC with
special focus on web-based services. The WDC/HGDC has maintained the Worldwide Tsunami Database
(WWTD), which includes more than 2,370 events since 2000 BC and more than 6,700 locations where
tsunamis were observed. Data are stored in Oracle, a relational database management system, and are
accessible over the Web as tables, reports, and interactive maps. The ESRI ArcIMS interactive maps
provide integrated Web-based GIS access to the hazards databases. She noted that with the free
ArcExplorer it is possible to extract layers and to access other web-based GIS servers.
238
The Novosibirsk Tsunami Laboratory (NTL), Institute of Computational Mathematics and
Mathematical Geophysics, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, is headed by Dr Viacheslav
K. Gusiakov. Dr Gusiakov, as the Co-ordinator of the HTDB/PAC Project (see Agenda Item 3.8), has led
the effort to compile the comprehensive Historical Tsunami Database for the Pacific (HTDB) as a joint
IUGG/TC and ICG/ITSU Project. The Web-version of the database for the Pacific, providing screen
forms for data search by a number of criteria, is maintained by the NTL/ICMMG at
http://tsun.sscc.ru/htdbpac. In recent years the geographical coverage of the HTDB datasets was extended
to cover other main tsunamigenic regions such as the Atlantic (261 events from 60 BC to the present) and
the Mediterranean (535 events from 1628 BC to present). The web-versions of these catalogues can be
found at http://tsun.sscc.ru/htdbatl (for the Atlantic) and http://tsun.sscc.ru/htdbmed (for the
Mediterranean).
239
At ITSU-XVIII (Para. 162-164 of the ITSU-XVIII Summary Report), regarding the development
of a joint NGDC/NOAA-ICG/ITSU-IUGG/TC Pacific Tsunami database product, had recommended that
the HTDB/PAC Project Leader and the WDC/NGDC Tsunami Programme Manager work together to
develop a unified and standardized set of historical tsunami data. Input from the HTDB Regional Coordinators for the Pacific would be solicited, thereby utilizing an existing framework. The unified
database should first be developed for the Pacific where a majority of the events have occurred, but
ultimately should include tsunami events from all other tsunamigenic areas of the world’s oceans.
240
The benefits of having such a single, unified product are straightforward. First, this product will
reduce confusion for end users looking for a reliable source of information on historical tsunamis. And
second, in the process of preparation of the joint product, many discrepancies and uncertainties in
parameters of historical tsunamigenic events still existing in both the HTDB and WWTD databases will
be resolved.
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 29
241
As requested by the ITSU Officers (and as a follow-up to ITSU-XVIII), the ITIC assisted with
the development of a plan to compile a unified and comprehensive Global Historical Tsunami Database
(GTDB) through the merging of the two existing tsunami databases (WWTD, HTDB) with the further
input from the HTDB Regional Co-ordinators for the Pacific on the historical data locally and regionally
available. This proposal was developed extensively during June 2003, by NGDC, HTDB and ITIC. The
first NGDC/HTDB working meeting was held on 8 July 2003 in Sapporo, Japan, before the IUGG
Tsunami Symposium. The meeting was attended by Ms P. Dunbar, Dr L. Kong, Dr V. Gusiakov, Dr C.
McCreery (PTWC Director), Dr L. Dengler (HEED Director, California, USA), Dr K. Satake (IUGG/TC
Chair), and Ms G. Downes (IGNS Ltd., New Zealand). The second NGDC/HTDB meeting took place on
24 September 2003, just prior to the International Tsunami Workshop and the ICG/ITSU-XIX Session.
242
Currently, it is planned to define a new database format that will include information from both
databases. This new format is being developed jointly by Ms P. Dunbar and Dr V. Gusiakov. During the
remaining months of 2003, the current content of both databases will be revised based upon the printed
tsunami catalogues and other widely available publications. Consequently, in the first quarter of 2004,
both databases will be merged and converted into the new format. During the planned working visit of
Dr Gusiakov to the NGDC/SEG, currently scheduled for February-March 2004, the remaining
discrepancies and uncertainties in the database content will be resolved and all records in the event and
run-up tables will be provided with basic references. The master copy of the unified database will be
created and maintained in the Oracle DBMS at the NGDC/SEG from where the data can be accessed via
Web-based text forms and ArcIMS interactive maps, as well as exported in different formats such ASCII
flat files, Excel, Access, MS SQL Server or other formats specified by the ITIC for use by the tsunami
warning centers and other potential users.
243
It is further recommended that the official copy of the database be housed at the WDC/NGDC,
which has an effective and widely known distribution system through which the tsunami database will
reach more users in a wider range of disciplines. Hosting of the tsunami database by WDC/NGDC would
thus take advantage of its existing institutional framework, human resources, and database archiving and
delivery technologies, to support and enhance the tsunami database. The NTL also has users who are
familiar with the data access and display applications available from the web-version of the HTDB.
Therefore, it is recommended that the data files exported from the unified database will also be available
from the NTL website in Novosibirsk, Russia.
244
Additionally, recognizing that some international users may not have ready access to the Internet,
as well as recognizing the needs of individual researches to have an access to the historical data in
“offline” mode (e.g., being on research ships or in the field during post-event tsunami surveys), it is
suggested that the offline, stand-alone application (WinHTDB graphic shell with the TTT module)
continue to be supported and distributed using the data files retrieved from the unified tsunami database.
245
The Group requested Dr V. Gusiakov to provide the IOC Secretariat with a master copy of the
HTDB database (version 4.9), and instructed the IOC Secretariat to copy and distribute the CD-ROM to
all ICG/ITSU Member States (2 copies/country).
246
The Group thanked NGDC/NOAA and NTL/ICMMG for the considerable work already
achieved in building historical tsunami databases and welcomed the proposed initiative for a single
unified tsunami database.
247
The Delegate of USA informed the Group that his country will contribute financial resources for
the implementation of the project so the financial implications for IOC will be limited.
248
The Group established a sessional working group tasked with preparing a draft recommendation
on this issue.
249
The Group adopted Recommendation ITSU-XIX.3.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 30
7.4
CO-OPERATION WITH GLOSS
250
CmDr Rodrigo Nuñez, in his capacity of Vice-chairman of IGOOS introduced this item. He
provided an overview of the GLOSS programme and its activities. He explained that GLOSS currently
has almost 300 tide gauges around the world. GLOSS tries to establish a high quality sea-level network
used for climate, oceanographic and coastal research. GLOSS is co-ordinated by IOC and is a major
contributor to the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). For scientific research GLOSS measures
long-term changes in global sea-level and ocean circulation. With regard to practical applications,
GLOSS attempts to predict flood risks in coastal regions. GLOSS measures sea-level using satellite radar
altimetry, tide gauges and seabed devices in the case of deep oceans. More information on GLOSS can be
obtained from http://www.pol.ac.uk/psmsl/programmes/gloss.info.html. In terms of time scales
momentary changes in sea-level can occur due to tsunamis, daily changes due to tides and surges. There
are also seasonal changes, inter-annual changes (e.g., due to ENSO) and long-term changes due to climate
change. IPCC has concluded that there has been a global rise of approximately 10-20 cm during the past
100 years.
251
With regard to GLOSS activities, the regional developments are very important: regional
networks of gauges with greater spatial density, to serve the particular oceanographic interests of those
regions. At the national level, GLOSS contributes to the activities of national agencies by improving the
standards for sea-level recording around the world. With regard to training, GLOSS organizes annual
training courses on the techniques of tide gauge operations, and workshops on special interests.
252
Data from GLOSS tide gauges are sent to the University of Hawaii Sea-Level Center
(http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/UHSLC). Subsequently the data are archived at the Permanent Service for
Mean Sea Level. There is a delay between the measuring and publishing due to quality control. The data
are also made available on CD-ROM.
253
GLOSS is receiving a lot of support to upgrade GLOSS-Sea Level Stations to have CGPS
(Continuous GPS) installed at several locations. This concept is being pushed at all GLOSS meetings but
no real encouragement has been given to support the tsunami warning system (even though GLOSS is
trying to increase the number of stations reporting in near real-time and real-time).
254
GLOSS-VIII will be held in October 2003 in Paris, France. The ITSU Chair will participate and
will be able to inform the GLOSS community on ITSU requirements.
The Chair invited the Group to guide him with regard to his participation in GLOSS-VIII.
255
256
The Group recommended not to approach GLOSS with a broad request involving all sea-level
stations, but rather to concentrate on new stations and most advanced stations as they could easily provide
for the needs of ITSU.
257
The PTWC Director called for the Group to re-define its requirements in terms of sampling rate to
ensure that the data provided by the stations remain adequate for a long time.
258
The Group requested the Chair to identify, for e.g., Indonesia, El Salvador and Nicaragua, the best
sites to install new gauges.
259
7.5
OTHER
7.5.1
Joint IOC-WMO Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology
(JCOMM)
Mr Phil Parker, in his capacity of Co-ordinator of the JCOMM Services Programme Area reported
on possible co-operation with JCOMM. JCOMM is the Joint WMO/IOC Technical Commission for
Oceanography and Marine Meteorology. He explained that JCOMM was established to streamline the
management of operational oceanographic activities at the international level, and thereby improve the
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 31
outcomes for Member countries/States and the global population at large. While initially ITSU was not
included in the merger of operational activities of IOC and WMO, the current phases of the respective
management and planning cycles of ITSU, IOC, WMO and JCOMM could provide an opportunity for
initiating discussion about the benefits to ITSU in closely allying itself with JCOMM and how to progress
with such a dialogue.
260
The structure of the JCOMM Open Programme Areas (OPAs) was briefly reviewed, and in
particular the expert panels on waves and surges, and sea-level observations, were identified as possible
key areas for common interest and co-ordination. It was also pointed out that with the inclusion of
GLOSS in the Observations OPA and recent inclusion of IODE in the Data Management OPA, there are
already some significant precedents for close ties between flagship IOC programmes and JCOMM.
Whether ITSU might more naturally ally with the Services OPA, or the other mentioned OPAs, could be
a matter of further investigation. The potential for gaining efficiency through this process, which has
been a major factor driving the establishment of JCOMM, could also potentially provide positive benefits
for ITSU and its funding situation.
261
The Group agreed to investigate a potential closer relationship with JCOMM, through a
recommendation to the IOC and WMO Executive Councils, and to agree to investigate the benefits and
how best they might be realized. The recommendation should envisage a report that would be prepared
for consideration by JCOMM-II, which will be held in Halifax, Canada, in the fall of 2005.
262
The Group recommended to study the Terms of Reference of the JCOMM Programme Areas in
general, and its Expert Teams in particular, and identify areas where JCOMM and ICG/ITSU could
collaborate. This could involve the Services, Observations, Capacity Building or Data Management
Programme Areas.
The Group adopted Resolution IOC/ITSU-XIX.1.
263
7.1.2
264
Co-ordination Center for the Prevention of Natural Disasters in Central America
(CEPREDENAC)
The Group requested the Chair and IOC Secretariat to contact the CEPREDENAC Executive
Secretary with the objective of seeking formal collaboration between CEPREDENAC and ICG/ITSU.
8.
PROPOSALS FOR FUTURE PROJECTS
8.1
RESILIENCE OF MARGINAL COMMUNITIES UNDER TSUNAMI THREAT
265
Prof. Hansjurgen Meyer (Colombia) introduced this Agenda item. He explained that ITSU's
strategies and recommendations focus on saving lives, via evacuation or land-use planning. Large and
possibly increasing populations do not have means to access hazards information, nor to leave their
dwellings. Resisting tsunami is a less safe strategy for the most exposed, but in many areas and under
very limiting natural and social conditions it could be the most feasible approach, to both reducing risk on
lives and property. Many ways and means to resist heavy seas and tsunami have been implemented in
different regions, times and cultures: mounds, pole-supported housing, resistant structures, dykes, walls,
landfills, reforesting, etc.
266
The proposed project aims at broadening the spectrum of mitigation strategies recommended by
ITSU, with solutions aiming at increasing the resistance/resilience of marginal habitats, reduction of risk
on tsunami-exposed lives in dwellings with very limited opportunities to leave, and reduction of risk on
property.
267
The proposed actions by ITSU members would be to explore and gather information on
traditional and modern physical strategies to protect coastal communities from high seas and tsunami, on
their performance, the associated technologies, costs, etc., analyze, explain and comment each one,
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 32
providing information and recommendations on applicability and implementation, and to publish as an
ITSU document those regarded as practical, for educational purposes.
268
The Group decided to establish an intersessional working group to further develop the proposal
including a detailed implementation plan, budget and timetable. The Group will be chaired by Prof. H.
Meyer (Colombia) and membership will include Australia and the ITIC Director. The working group will
submit the revised draft proposal to the 2005 Officers Meeting.
8.2
SEA-LEVEL WAVEFORM DATABASE
269
This proposal was introduced by the Chair. Sea-level gauges are an essential element of tsunami
warning systems: they are used to quickly confirm the existence or non existence of tsunami waves
following an earthquake, to monitor the tsunami’s progress, to help estimate the severity of the hazard.
Water level gauges may also be the only way to detect a tsunami in cases when the tsunami is not
earthquake generated. PTWC receives numerous seal-level data in real-time or quasi real-time. The fifth
mandate of ITIC revised in 1977 is ‘to help make available all records pertaining to tsunamis’.
270
In the conclusion of the Master Plan, one of the areas for work that is especially important for
improving the TWSP is ‘Collect and archive all water level gauge data as well as runup and inundation
measurements following each large earthquake and/or tsunami. The absence of a tsunami signal on a
record is also important, and those records should be saved as well’.
271
The access of regional and national tsunami warning centres to a sea-level waveform data bank
will improve considerably their efficiency. The conditions that must be required are:
-
this databank must run 24 hours a day and 7 days a week,
-
this server should be installed at PTWC where the data from many sources are collected in
near real time,
-
the system must be totally automatic not to add to the work of PTWC in the case of a
warning, and
-
the system must be safe — a firewall can be programmed to only accept messages from preapproved sources.
272
The seismological centres have installed and have been running such systems for more than 10
years. The most common system is named AutoDRM (Automatic Data Request Manager). This system is
implemented with a server archive database that processes email requests through the Internet. The user
sends a very simple email message through the Internet indicating the key information of the request
(email address for the response, starting and ending date of the data, station name, channel, and format).
The requester will receive, after a couple of minutes (depending on the Internet access speed) a message
with the data requested.
273
In seismology, the sample rate is typically from 4 samples per second to 50 samples per second.
So the size of the files can be substantial. In comparison, the sampling rate of seal-level gage data varies
from 1 sample every 6 minutes to 1 sample every 15 seconds (a factor of up to 1,000 less). Consequently,
the size of the sea-level database is very small in comparison to seismic waveform databases. In case of
being triggered, some stations send data at a higher sampling. A second channel can be defined to record
this different data.
274
One example of the use of AutoDRM in the Group is by CPPT. They request broadband and
very broad-band data from DASE, GEOScope and the IRIS data bank, to compute the focal mechanism
of the large earthquakes (Rapid Determination of Focal Mechanism project).
275
The Group recognized that the implementation of a sea-level database will improve the tsunami
warning system by providing access by all warning centres of data in real-time.
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 33
276
The PTWC will investigate the possibility to install the AUTODRM server at PTWC as a pilot
project activity and will inform the Officers on its progress during their 2005 Meeting. Member States will
be provided with a full report during ITSU-XX.
277
In addition, WDC, Solid Earth Geophysics will investigate the possibility of archiving the complete
database and making it accessible for research purposes.
9.
LONG TERM STRATEGY OF THE ITSU PROGRAMME
278
The PTWC Director introduced this Agenda item. He recommended that ITSU take time to reflect
on its priorities for the next 5–10 years on the basis of the ITSU Master Plan, published in 1999.
279
He recalled that the ITSU Master plan had been divided into a number of “areas of work”, listed in
the ITSU Master Plan under “Conclusions” and he proceeded reviewing the progress made since 1999 on
these issues:
•
Runup Maps - Use numerical model and historical data to create potential runup maps as
the basis for hazard assessment, for evacuation maps and plans, and to motivate other key
mitigation activities on the local level including public education, land use planning, and
engineering efforts: many Member States have made substantial progress in developing
runup maps;
•
Historical Data - Put historical data into a common database format, and develop tools that
make those data readily available to persons and offices that need them in the mitigation and
research communities: a lot of progress has been made (e.g., HTDB) and the new work plan
includes the unified database project;
•
Tsunami Education - Continue to develop educational materials and programmes that will
improve tsunami awareness and education among the public, warning center operators,
emergency managers, and policy makers: here also, a lot of progress has been made
(Tsunami Newsletter, see Agenda Item 5.1 and the Tsunami Glossary, Agenda Item 5.3).
During the next intersessional period the “Tsunami Information Kit” will be published;
•
Warning Centers - Establish new regional warning centers for the local tsunami threat in
areas without coverage, and develop technologies and methodologies to improve the speed,
accuracy, and reliability of all tsunami warning centers: during the current Session several
proposals for regional tsunami warning systems were discussed (see the Central American
Tsunami Warning System, Agenda Item 6.3, and the Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean
Tsunami Warning System, Agenda Item 6.4) ;
•
Water Level Instrumentation - Improve the strategic coverage of water level instruments
and the quality of signals they record for both warning and research purposes: addition of
coastal and deep-sea stations (Sea-level enhancements, Agenda Item 3.6);
•
Operational Actions - Local authorities, observatories, and warning centers need to send
tsunami observations immediately to their national warning centers, and in turn those centers
must send that information immediately to PTWC: substantial work remains to be done;
•
New Tsunamis - Collect and archive all water level gauge data as well as runup and
inundation measurements following each large earthquake and/or tsunami. The absence of a
tsunami signal on a record is also important, and those records should be saved as well: A
new project has been proposed for a Sea-level Waveform Databank for the Tsunami
Programme (Agenda Item 8.2);
•
Communications - Keep abreast of new communications systems that may be more effective
for warning centers and other purposes, and adopt them for use in the TWSP as appropriate:
no substantial progress has been made in implementing a new communication system. During
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 34
previous sessions the use of systems like Iridium had been considered but no action was
taken. Some experience was gathered with EMWIN (by Chile);
•
Research - Encourage and support research on tsunamis and all tsunami-related topics with
the potential to improve mitigation: This continues to be part of the ITSU programme through
the joint organization of the tsunami workshops.
280
The PTWC Director referred to the US “Tsunami Ready Program” that established a set of
requirements that a coastal community should fulfill to ensure maximum tsunami preparedness. Upon
fulfilling the requirements a “stamp of approval” is issued. He recommended that ITSU define a set of
“international” requirements and consider a similar “certification”.
281
The Group considered that substantial progress has been made in the implementation of the
Master Plan and recommended focused action on (i) acquisition of data in real-time; (ii) optimizing the
network to ensure accurate warning issuance and minimization of false warnings.
282
The Group, noting that capacity building and mitigation are currently not included in the abovementioned list of issues, decided to add these terms to the list, and to publish the revised Master Plan
“conclusions” on the ITSU web site. The revised conclusions are added as Annex VIII.
283
The Group decided to include the revision of the Master Plan in the agenda of ITSU-XX.
284
The Delegate of Colombia noted that ITSU is currently not giving sufficient attention to the
possible impact of asteroids and the subsequent generation of large tsunamis. The ITIC Director informed
that this subject will be covered in the new Tsunami Information Kit.
10.
EVALUATION OF THE IOC TSUNAMI PROGRAMME
285
This Agenda Item was introduced by the Technical Secretary. He recalled the decision taken by
the Group at its Eighteenth Session where it “acknowledged the need for the programme evaluation and
agreed that it should be carried out by a team of external experts knowledgeable in the tsunami
programme and the work of international organizations”. At that time the Group had invited
Mr M. Blackford to lead the team. Regrettably in December 2002, Mr Blackford, informed the Chair that
due to health reasons his contribution would be delayed.
286
During their 2003 Session, the Officers had therefore suggested Dr Emile Okal (USA),
Mr Salvador Farreras (Mexico), Dr Stefano Tinti (Italy), Mr Luis Mendes Victor (Portugal), Dr Tad
Murty (Canada) and Mr Dennis Sigrist (USA). The Officers further decided to use the GOOS review as
an example that could be used to define the structure of the ITSU evaluation. It was also recommended by
the Officers that the evaluation be completed for the 2004 Session of the IOC Executive Council.
287
The Chair had contacted some of the above-mentioned experts by e-mail but had received few
replies. The Group was invited to recommend ways to implement the review within the set timetable.
288
After some discussions the Group decided to:
(i)
Add Dr George Maul (University of Florida, USA) and Dr Paul LeBlond (ex-University of
British Columbia, Canada) to the list;
(ii)
request the IOC Secretariat and ITIC Director to define the Terms of Reference for the
Review by 1 December 2003, based upon the GOOS Review Terms of Reference;
(iii) request the Chair and IOC Secretariat to contact the above-mentioned experts and prepare the
final list of Review Team members (and Chair of the Review Team) by 31 December 2003;
(iv)
make the necessary arrangements for the Review Team to implement the Review and submit
their Report by May 2004;
IOC/ITSU-XVIII/3
page 35
(v)
289
invite the Chair of the Review Team to provide a summary report during the IOC Executive
Council, June 2004.
The Group requested the Executive Secretary IOC to allocate the necessary funds for the Review
from the IOC Policy Budget.
11.
OTHER BUSINESS
290
The Observer of Papua New Guinea expressed his country’s interest to join IOC and ICG/ITSU and
informed the Group that the necessary formal contacts will be made with UNESCO and IOC in the next few
months.
291
The Group noted the statement of Papua New Guinea’s Observer with appreciation and looked
forward to welcoming Papua New Guinea as a new Member of ICG/ITSU.
12.
PROGRAMME AND BUDGET FOR 2004-2005
292
The Technical Secretary informed the Group that an amount of US$ 58,500 had been included in
the UNESCO 32 C/5 for ITSU operational activities as part of the MLA-3 Ocean Services. In addition, US$
24,000 would be obtained from the MLA-5 Regions, bringing the total for ITSU for the biennium 20042005 to US$82,500. Additional funds would become available from the headings ‘TEMA — general grants
scheme’ and ‘TEMA-CB activities general pool’ that will be attributed on a competitive basis.
293
The Chairman of the Sessional Working Group on Programme and Budget, CmDr Rodrigo Nuñez
then proceeded with the introduction of the relevant draft Recommendation.
294
The Group adopted Recommendation IOC/ITSU-XIX.5, containing the programme activities
adopted during the Session and estimate of funds needed to implement them successfully.
295
The Group noted that the total requested budget of US$ 63,000 for 2004, and US$ 78,500 for 2005
(total US$ 141,500) exceeded the expected funds available from the UNESCO Regular Programme budget,
allocated to ITSU but considered that the difference could be covered by Member State contributions to the
IOC Trust Fund or in-kind contributions towards the implementation of programme activities.
296
The Group expressed its highest appreciation for support provided by Member States to the IOC
Trust Fund, earmarked for ITSU, and hoped that Member States will continue to provide financial or inkind support.
13.
DATES AND PLACE FOR ITSU-XX
297
The Group welcomed the kind offer of Chile, offered by Capt. Fernando Mingram, to host the
Twentieth Session of ICG/ITSU in Valparaiso, Chile between 3 and 7 October 2005. Chile also kindly
offered to host the IUGG Workshop in the preceding week in Santiago.
298
The Group gratefully accepted their offer to host the Twentieth Session. The meeting will be
formally hosted by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy (SHOA). The IUGG
Workshop will be co-organized with the National Emergency Office (ONEMI).
299
The Delegate of Ecuador offered to host ITSU-XXI in 2007. A formal invitation will be sent to the
Executive Secretary IOC.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
page 36
14.
ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR
300
The Technical Secretary informed the Group on the rules and practical arrangements for the
election of the Officers of the IOC Subsidiary Bodies as they are presented in Document IOC/INF-785,
IOC Manual of 1989, Part I, Item 5 and in the Revised Rules of Procedure, as of June 1994 (Document
IOC/EC-XXVII/Inf.1).
301
The Group expressed its appreciation for the excellent work carried out by the current Chair and
Vice-Chair between their first election at ITSU-XVII and the current Session and, in compliance with the
rules, invited them to continue for another (and final) intersessional period. The Chair and Vice-Chair
accepted.
302
The Group re-elected Dr François Schindelé and Dr Charles McCreery as Chair and Vice-Chair of
ITSU respectively by acclamation.
303
The Chair and Vice-Chair thanked the Group for their confidence and they pledged their best efforts
to honour this confidence during the next intersessional period.
15.
ADOPTION OF THE SUMMARY REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
304
The Group reviewed the draft resolutions and recommendations and the draft Summary Report
and adopted them as herein presented. The Group requested the ICG/ITSU Chair and the IOC Technical
Secretary to prepare an Action Sheet on the ITSU-XIX decisions by the end of 2003, and to make it
available to all Member States and ITSU-XIX participants through the ITSU website.
305
The Group requested its Chair to report on the proceedings of ITSU-XIX to the upcoming Session
of the IOC Executive Council and to urge Member States for continued and increased support for ITSU.
16.
CLOSURE
306
The Chairman thanked all the delegates for their hard work in meeting the Session’s objectives.
He invited the ICG/ITSU Member States to participate more actively in the intersessional activities and in
the Session’s discussions. He expressed a strong belief that the success of the programme to a large extent
depends on the efficiency of the ITSU National Contacts and their continuous involvement in the
Tsunami Programme activities.
307
Mr David Kingi, Representative of the Te papa Rantaki Maori Unit addressed the meeting
wishing the participants a safe journey home.
308
Mr Mike O’Leary, speaking on behalf of Dr John Norton thanked the participants for their visit to
New Zealand and expressed the hope that the ITSU programme would continue to grow.
The Chairman, Vice-Chairman, ITIC Director, ITIC Associate Director and Technical Secretary
thanked the local host referring in particular to the local support team including Mike O’Leary, Sara
Williams, Jessica Smith, James O’Reilly, Clinton Poole and Hadley Thomson.
309
The Chairman declared the Meeting closed at 18:30 on 02 October 2003.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex I
ANNEX I
AGENDA
1.
OPENING
2.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SESSION
3.
PROGRESS IN THE PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN ON THE PROGRAMME AND BUDGET
NATIONAL REPORTS
ITIC DIRECTOR’S REPORT
PTWC DIRECTOR’S REPORT
RECENT TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
SEA LEVEL ENHANCEMENTS
WORKING GROUP ON INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI SIGNS AND
SYMBOLS
3.8 REPORT ON HTDB/PAC
4.
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
ITSU TRAINING PROGRAMME
TRAINING COURSES (EXPERT LEVEL)
PUBLIC EDUCATION
OTHER
5.
ITSU PUBLICATIONS AND AWARENESS TOOLS
5.1 TSUNAMI NEWSLETTER
5.2 TSUNAMI INFORMATION KIT
5.3 TSUNAMI GLOSSARY
5.4 ITSU WEBSITES
6.
REGIONAL AND OTHER TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEMS
6.1 NORTHWEST PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
6.2 IAS TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
6.3 CENTRAL AMERICAN TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
6.4 SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AND INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
6.5 OTHER REGIONS
7.
EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW ONES
7.1 CO-OPERATION WITH THE IUGG TSUNAMI COMMISSION
7.2 CO-OPERATION WITH ISDR
7.3 WORLD DATA CENTRE-A, SOLID EARTH GEOPHYSICS DEVELOPMENTS
RELATED TO TSUNAMIS
7.4 COOPERATION WITH GLOSS
7.5 OTHER
8.
PROPOSALS FOR FUTURE PROJECTS
9.
LONG TERM STRATEGY OF THE ITSU PROGRAMME
10.
EVALUATION OF THE IOC TSUNAMI PROGRAMME
11.
OTHER BUSINESS
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex I - page 2
12.
PROGRAMME AND BUDGET FOR 2004-2005
13.
DATES AND PLACE FOR ITSU-XX
14.
ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR
15.
ADOPTION OF THE SUMMARY REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
16.
CLOSURE
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex II
ANNEX II
LIST OF RESOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Resolution ITSU-XIX.1
CO-OPERATION WITH JCOMM
Recognizing the strong common links between ITSU and other operational programmes of the IOC
now being coordinated, managed and facilitated jointly with WMO under JCOMM, including
common Secretariat functions and personnel,
Considering the strong likelihood of benefits flowing to ITSU, JCOMM and the providers and users
of tsunami services at the international, regional and local levels, of closer ties with JCOMM,
including internal streamlining,
Appreciating the benefits that have been factored into decisions to make similar rearrangements of
programmatic relationships with JCOMM for other flagship IOC programmes such as IODE and
GLOSS,
Decides to study the benefits of establishing cooperative links with JCOMM, and how they might be
realized, with the view to presenting a report to WMO and IOC Executive Councils and the JCOMM
Management Committee in preparation for consideration by JCOMM-II;
Requests the Chair to discuss the co-operation with JCOMM at the appropriate level.
Recommendation ITSU-XIX.1
WORKING GROUP ON A COMPREHENSIVE TSUNAMI HAZARD REDUCTION
PROGRAMME
The International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific,
Recognizing the value of the proposal submitted by the USA during IOC/ITSU-XVIII entitled
‘Tsunami Reduction of Impacts through three Key Actions’ (TROIKA), authored by Dr Eddie Bernard
of NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory,
Noting the continued success of the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Programme (NTHMP),
Further recognizing that the Group enthusiastically adopted TROIKA as a model for comprehensive
tsunami hazard reduction programs in tsunamigenic areas of the Pacific,
Decides to establish an inter-sessional working group to prepare a pilot implementation programme
for the Pacific with the following terms of reference:
(i)
To identify elements of the existing capabilities in all three components described in the
TROIKA proposal and listed below:
(a)
Hazard Assessment—Generating local and distant tsunami inundation maps for
coastal communities using internationally accepted numerical model methodology. Estimates
of coastal areas susceptible to tsunami flooding will be available from a network of modelers
and data managers who will be sharing community modeling tools via the Internet.
(b)
Mitigation—Developing response plans for emergency managers, universally
accepted tsunami information signs in accordance with local plans/procedures, and
maintaining a tsunami education programme for disaster management personnel, local
residents and school systems.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex II - page 2
(c)
Warning Guidance—Developing and deploying a network of early warning tsunami
detection instruments in seismically active coastal areas of the Pacific Ocean to complement
the global network of real-time sea level networks and broadband seismometers for the
international tsunami warning system and to supplement regional tsunami warning centers.
(ii)
To fully develop the capacity requirements in each component;
(iii)
To identify cost estimates to achieve the full capacity level in each component;
(iv)
To develop an implementation plan;
(v)
To present the Group’s results to the 2005 ITSU Officers meeting;
(vi)
To incorporate feedback from the ITSU Officers meeting and submit the Group’s final report
to ITSU-XX;
(vii)
To liaise with the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) regarding tsunami
hazard reduction.
Recommends that the Group will be composed of Eddie Bernard (United States), Rodrigo H. Nunez
(Chile), Neil Head (Australia) and Chaired by the Director of ITIC.
Recommends further that each ICG/ITSU Member State reports to the Group Chairman on its
ongoing efforts related to each of the three TROIKA components, not later than 13 February 2004, to
assist the Group in its efforts.
____________________
Financial implications
•
•
•
•
Travel costs of the Chile Group member to attend a Group meeting in the USA in 2004
(US$3,000),
Travel costs of the USA Group member to travel to Hawaii to participate in the January 2005
ITSU Officers’ meeting (US$2,500)
Travel costs for the USA Group member to participate in the ITSU-XX meeting (US$3,000).
Total US$8,500: US$5,500 in 2004 and US$3,000 in 2005.
Recommendation ITSU-XIX.2
WORKING GROUP ON THE CENTRAL AMERICA PACIFIC COAST TSUNAMI
WARNING SYSTEM
The International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific,
Recognizing that Central America has a significant threat from both local and distant tsunamis,
Noting that the six countries of Central America and the Coordination Center for the Prevention of
Natural Disasters in Central America (CEPREDENAC) during a meeting held in Managua, Nicaragua
on 3 September 2003 decided to start the process for a Regional Tsunami Warning System and to
request IOC/ITSU assistance in developing it,
Acknowledging that there already exist within the countries of Central America many capabilities
applicable to the requirements of a tsunami warning system,
Recognizing further that a draft proposal for a Tsunami Warning System for Central America has
been developed by Nicaragua and is currently in the process of review and consultation by the Central
American countries as requested by the Executive Secretary of CEPREDENAC,
Further acknowledging that there are mutual benefits to the Central America region and the Pacific
region that would be realized through the establishment of this warning system,
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex II – page 3
Decides to establish an Intersessional Working Group on the Central America Tsunami Warning
System with the following terms of reference:
(i)
To identify immediate and long-term ways on how ITSU, ITIC, and PTWC can assist in the
development and implementation of this system;
(ii)
To review and recommend to the Executive Secretary of CEPREDENAC improvements to the
proposal, based upon the long experiences of ITSU;
Recommends that the Group will be composed of representatives from Nicaragua, Chile, France,
Observer from El Salvador, the Directors of ITIC and PTWC and Chaired by the representative from
Nicaragua;
Acknowledges that ITSU is the Co-ordinating Body for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific
(TWSP) and encourages non-ITSU Member States to contact the IOC Secretariat to request
membership of the ICG/ITSU.
___________________________
Financial implications
US$5,000 for 2004
US$5,000 for 2005
Recommendation ITSU-XIX.3
GLOBAL HISTORICAL TSUNAMI DATABASE PROJECT
The International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific,
Noting that the NTL/ICMMG (on behalf of ICG/ITSU) and the WDG/NGDC continue to hold two
distinct databases, that are similar in format, but differ in terms of number of events, historical run-up
records as well as in parameters of particular events,
Recognizing the benefits of having a single unified database that will serve as a reliable source of
information on historical tsunamis in the Pacific for end-users,
Decides:
(i)
to implement the Global Historical Tsunami Database Project that will develop a unified,
consistent, quality tsunami database based upon the two existing tsunami databases;
(ii)
that the Project will be implemented jointly by ITIC, the WDG/NGDC and the NTL/ICMMG;
(iii)
that the official copy of the database be housed and maintained at the WDC/NGDC from
where the data can be accessed, free of charge, via Web-based HTML forms and ArcISM
interactive maps as well as exported in different formats specified by the ITIC for the use by
the tsunami warning centers and other potential users;
(iv)
that the offline, standalone application (WinHTDB graphic shell) continues to be supported
and be updated by adding a new software for calculation of the Tsunami Travel Time (TTT).
This will take into account that some users may not have easy access to the Internet, and it
will respond to the needs of requiring access to the historical data in “offline” mode;
Requests that WDG/NGDC provides copies of a CD-ROM to the IOC Secretariat, including the data
base, graphic shell and TTT software, for distribution to Member States and allow IOC Member States
to make copies as required.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex II - page 4
______________________
Financial implications:
US$3,000 in 2004 from IOC; no funds required from IOC for 2005
US$20,000 in 2004 from USA (NWS/PR)
Recommendation ITSU-XIX.4
WORKING GROUP ON THE TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM
IN THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AND INDIAN OCEAN
The International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific,
Recognizing that the Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean has a significant threat from both local and
distant tsunamis,
Further recognizing that some areas of this region are not covered by the PTWC,
Noting the interest of Member States in the Indian Ocean and Southwest Pacific regions to enhance
their tsunami warning services,
Acknowledging that Indonesia has decided to develop its National Tsunami Warning System with
already existing and planned upgrades to seismic and sea-level networks and that the PTWC provides
distant tsunami warnings for the Southwest Pacific,
Further acknowledging that there may be mutual benefits to these regions and to the Tsunami
Warning System in the Pacific from the establishment of this system;
Decides to establish an intersessional Working Group on the Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean with
the following Terms of Reference:
-
to evaluate capabilities of countries in these regions for providing tsunami warning
services;
-
to ascertain requirements from countries in the Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean for the
tsunami warning services;
Requests Australia and ITIC to prepare a draft prior to the next SOPAC meeting for consideration by
the Working Group.
Recommends that the Group be composed of representatives from Indonesia, Australia, Fiji, New
Zealand, Japan, Observer from Papua New Guinea and the Directors of ITIC and PTWC and Chaired
by the Representative of Indonesia;
Acknowledges that ITSU is the Co-ordination Body for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific
(TWSP) and encourages non-ITSU Member States to contact the IOC Secretariat to request
membership of the ICG/ITSU.
____________________
Financial implications:
US$5,000 for 2004; US$5,000 for 2005.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex II – page 5
Recommendation ITSU-XIX.5
PROGRAMME OF WORK AND BUDGET FOR 2004-–2005
The International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific,
Recalling that the IOC Tsunami Programme was identified by the IOC Governing Bodies as a high
priority and flagship programme of the Commission, being an unique programme within the IOC fully
dedicated to the co-ordination of an operational natural hazard warming system with the goal of
reducing the tsunami danger and its impact on coastal communities,
Appreciating highly the support of Chile, France, New Zealand, Republic of Korea and USA
provided to the IOC Tsunami Programme in 2002-2003 through Trust Fund contributions and in-kind
contributions of Member States,
Also appreciating the support of USA in hosting and funding the operation of PTWC and ITIC,
Taking into account discussions, which took place during the Nineteenth Session of the ICG/ITSU
regarding the programme activities and agreed upon priorities for 2004-2005,
Being informed of the IOC Programme and Budget for 2004-2005 adopted by the Twenty-second
Session of the IOC Assembly held in Paris in June/July 2003,
Adopts the following ICG/ITSU Programme for 2004-2005 and identifies required resources;
(i)
Assistance to the International Tsunami Information Centre (ITIC) for its continuing activities
and fulfilling its obligations to the ICG/ITSU during 2004-2005.
Budget:
2004
US$29,000
2005
US$27,000
(ii)
Support to the ITIC Associate Director, including one trip each year to ITIC for briefing and
reporting on the accomplishments.
Budget:
2004
US$3,500
2005
US$3,500 (Officers meeting)
(iii)
Organization of the ITSU Officers Meeting in January 2005 in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA and
the Twentieth Session of the Group (ITSU-XX) in October of 2005, in Valparaiso, Chile, and
the Budget:
2004
US$5,000
2005
US$25,000
(iv)
Participation of ITSU Officers/Experts/Secretariat at meetings of other organizations dealing
with issues relevant to the Tsunami Programme and of the ICG/ITSU Chairman at meetings of
other bodies.
Budget:
2004
US$5,000
2005
US$5,000
(v)
Partial support to complete the development of the Global Tsunami Data Base (GTDB) and
the new Integrated Tsunami Data Base (ITDB) consisting of WinHTDB graphic shell and
Tsunami Travel Time (TTT) module.
Budget:
2004
US$3,000
(vi)
Tsunami Information Kit finalization.
Budget:
2004
US$2,000 (ITIC)
2005
US$5,000 (3,000 printing and 2,000 for the translation into
French and Spanish languages – 1,000 each).
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex II - page 6
(vii)
Support for the Working Group on a Comprehensive Tsunami Hazard Reduction Programme
(TROIKA).
Budget:
2004
US$5,500
2005
US$3,000
(viii)
Support for the Working Group on the Central American Pacific Coast Tsunami Warning
System (CAPC-TWS).
Budget:
2004
US$5,000
2005
US$5,000
(ix)
Support for the Working Group on the Tsunami Warning System in the Southwest Pacific and
Indian Ocean (SWP-TWS).
Budget
2004
US$5,000
2005
US$5,000
Recognizing further that the IOC Tsunami Programme cannot meet successfully its obligation
without an adequate provision of resources,
Invites all Member States to support the Tsunami Programme by following the example of a few
Member States contributing directly to the IOC Trust Fund or in-kind by covering operational costs of
maintaining the Tsunami Warning System;
Requests ITSU National Contacts to be pro-active in making national authorities aware of the
programme and of the benefits of disaster reduction, through risk determination and resource
allocation to diminish its impact;
Requests the Executive Secretary IOC to take all necessary measures for providing support to the
Tsunami Programme, by allocating the necessary funds and staff; and
Expresses a strong hope that in the light of the importance and priority of the programme, all activities
mentioned in the Work Programme for 2004-2005 above, will receive the necessary funding.
Budget Summary (in US$)
Year/Priority
2004
i.
29,000
ii.
3,500
iii.
5,000
iv.
5,000
v.
3,000
vi.
2,000
vii.
5,500
viii.
5,000
ix.
5,000
TOTAL
63,000
GRAND TOTAL
2004-2005
2005
27,000
3,500
25,000
5,000
------5,000
3,000
5,000
5,000
78,500
US$ 141,500
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex III
ANNEX III
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
I. MEMBER STATES
CANADA
AUSTRALIA
Mr Fred STEPHENSON
Manager, Geomatics Engineering
Canadian Hydrographic Service
Institute of Ocean Services
P.O. Box 6000
9860 W. Saanich Rd.
Sidney, B.C. V8L 4B2
Tel: <1> (250) 363 6350
Fax: <1> (250) 363 6323
E-mail: stephensonf@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Mr GaryFOLEY
Regional Director, Bureau of Meteorology
G.P.O. Box 1370
West Perth WA 6872
Tel: <61> (8) 9263 2222
Fax: <61> (8) 9263 2211
E-mail: g.foley@bom.gov.au
Mr Neil HEAD
Director Development
Emergency Management Australia (EMA)
P.O. Box 1020, Dickson
Australian Capital Territory 2602
Tel: <61> (2) 6266 5029
Cell: <61> 408 020 875
E-mail: neil.head@ema.gov.au
URL: www.ema.gov.au
Mr Phil PARKER
National Manager, Marine Services
Bureau of Meteorology
G.P.O. Box 1289K
Melbourne VIC 3001
Tel: <61> (3) 9669 4510
Fax: <61> (3) 9669 4695
E-mail: p.parker@bom.gov.au
Mr Phil CUMMINS
Project Leader, Earthquake Hazard &
Neotectonics
Minerals & Geohazards Division
Geoscience Australia
G.P.O. Box 378, Canberra ACT 2601
Tel: <61> (2) 6249 9632
Fax: <61> (2) 6249 9986
E-mail: phil.cummins@ga.gov.au
Dr Linda ANDERSON-BERRY
Bureau of Meteorology
National Programme Co-ordinator Disaster
Mitigation Planning Service
G.P.O. Box 1289K
Melbourne VIC 3001
Tel: <61> (3) 9669 4585
Fax: <61> (3) 9669 4695
E-mail: Linda.anderson-berry@bom.gov.au
CHILE
Capt. Fernando MINGRAM
Director, Servicio Hidrográfico y
Oceanográfico de la Armada de Chile
Errázuriz 232, Playa Ancha, Casilla 324
Valparaíso
Tel: <56> (32) 266 502
Fax: <56> (32) 266 542
E-mail: fmingram@shoa.cl
Dr Rodrigo NUÑEZ
Head, Dept. of Oceanography
Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la
Armada de Chile
Errázuriz 232, Playa Ancha, Casilla 324
Valparaíso
Tel: <56> (32) 266 670
Fax: <56> (32) 266 542
E-mail: rnunez@shoa.cl
URL: http://www.shoa.cl
(Also Assistant Director ITIC)
Mr Emilio LORCA
Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la
Armada de Chile
Errázuriz 232, Playa Ancha, Casilla 324
Valparaíso
Tel: <56> (32) 266 689
Fax: <56> (32) 266 542
E-mail: elorca@shoa.cl
CHINA
Unable to attend
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex III - page 2
COLOMBIA
Prof. Hansjürgen MEYER
Universidad del Valle
Observatorio Sismológico del Suroccidente –
OSSO
Tel: <57> (2) 339 7222/330 1661
Fax: <57> (2) 331 3418
E-mail: hjm@osso.org.co
Tel : <689> 82 80 25
Fax : <689> 83 50 37
E-mail : reymond.d@labogeo.pf
INDONESIA
COSTA RICA
Unable to attend
Mr Ibnu PURWANA
Head, Seismology & Tsunami Division
Meteorology & Geophysical Agency
JL. Angkasa J / No. 2
P.O. Box 3540
Jakarta 10720
Tel: <62> (21) 424 64 74
Fax: <62> (21) 424 67 03
E-mail: ibnu@bmg.go.id
ECUADOR
JAPAN
Mrs. Patricia ARREAGA VARGAS
Oceanógrafo, Instituo Oceanográfico de la
Armada del Ecuador
Base Naval Sur
Av. 25 de Julio km 3 ½ via Pto Maritimo
Base Naval Sur
Tel: <593> (4) 248 1105/286 1400
Fax: <593> (4) 248 5166
E-mail: tsunamis@inocar.mil.ec
inocar@inocar.mil.ec
Mr Noritake NISHIDE
Director, Earthquake & Tsunami Observation
Division
Seismological & Volcanological Dept.
Japan Meteorological Agency
1-3-4, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 100-8122
Tel: <81> (3) 3284 1743
Fax: <81> (3) 3215 2963
E-mail: noritake.nishide@met.kishou.go.jp
FIJI
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
Mr Lasarusa VUETIBAU
Senior Seismologist
Seismology Unit, Mineral Resources Dept.
Private Mail Bag
Suva
Tel: <679> 338 1611
Fax: <679> 337 0039
E-mail: lasarusa@mrd.gov.fj
Mr Duck-Mo WOO
Director, Earthquake Division, Climate Bureau
Korea Meteorological Administration
460-18, Sindaebang-dong, Dongjak-gu
Seoul 156-720
Tel: <82> (2) 843 4228
Fax: <82> (2) 841 7664
E-mail: dmwooho@kma.go.kr
FRANCE
Dr Duk Kee LEE
Senior Researcher
Marine Meteorology & Earthquake Research
Laboratory
Meteorological Research Institute
Korea Meteorological Administration
460-18, Sindaebang-dong, Dongjak-gu
Seoul 156-720
Tel: <82> (2) 847 2495
Fax: <82> (2) 847 2496
E-mail: dukkee@metri.re.kr
COOK ISLANDS
Unable to attend
Dr François SCHINDELE (Chairman)
Scientific Advisor
Département Analyse Surveillance
Environnement
B.P. 12
91680 Bruyeres-le-Chatel
Tel: <33> (1) 69 26 5063
Fax: <33> (1) 69 26 7085
E-mail: francois.schindele@cea.fr
Mr Dominique REYMOND
Director, Geophysicist
CEA/DASE/LDG
P.O. Box 640, Papeete
98713 French Polynesia
MEXICO
Unable to attend
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex III – page 3
NEW ZEALAND
USA
Mr Mike O’LEARY
Manager Readiness & National Controller
Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency
Management
33, Bowen St., P.O. Box 5010
Wellington
Tel: <64> (4) 473 7363
Fax: <64> (4) 473 9596
E-mail: mike.o’leary@dia.govt.nz
Mr Jeff LADOUCE
Director, National Weather Service Pacific
Region
737, Bishop St, Suite 2200
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813-3213
Tel: <1> (808) 532 6416
Fax: <1> (808) 532 5569
E-mail: Jeff.Ladouce@noaa.gov
NICARAGUA
Mr Claudio GUTIÉRREZ HUETE
Executive Director
Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies
(INETER)
Frente Policlinica Oriental INSS
Apartado Postal 2110
Managua
Tel: <505> 248 0894
Fax: <505> 249 1890
E-mail: ineterds@ibw.com.ni
PERU
Lt CmDr Walter FLORES
Head of Peru Tsunami Warning Office
Direccion de Hidrografia y Navegacion
Av. Gamarra 500 Chucuito Callao
Tel: <51> (1) 420 2122 Ext: 6462
Fax: <51> (1) 420 2122
E-mail: wflores@dhn.mil.pe
PHILIPPINES
Unable to attend
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Dr Boris W. LEVIN
Head, Tsunami Laboratory
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology
Russian Academy of Sciences
Nakhimovsky prospect, 36
Moscow 117851
Tel: <7> (095) 124 8713
Fax: <7> (095) 124 8713
E-mail: tsucen@sio.rssi.ru
SINGAPORE
Unable to attend
THAILAND
Unable to attend
Dr Charles McCREERY (Vice-Chairman)
Director/Geophysicist
Pacific Warning Center (PTWC)
91-270 Fort Weaver Rd.
Ewa Beach, Hawaii 96706-2928
Tel: <l> (808) 689 8207 x 301
Fax: <1> (808) 689 4543
E-mail: mccreery@ptwc.noaa.gov
Dr Frank GONZALEZ
Leader, Tsunami Programme
NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental
Laboratory
7600 Sandpoint Way, Seattle
Washington 98102
Tel: <1> (206) 526 6803
Fax: <1> (206) 526 6485
E-mail: frank.i.gonzalez@noaa.gov
E-mail: gonzalez@pmel.noaa.gov
Ms Paula DUNBAR
Tsunami Programme Manager
NOAA/NESDIS National Geophysical Data
Center
325, Broadway, Boulder
Colorado 80305-6084
Tel : <1> (303) 497 6084
Fax : <1> (303) 497 6513
E-mail : paula.dunbar@noaa.gov
WESTERN SAMOA
Unable to attend
II.
ORGANIZATIONS
Circum-Pacific Council (CPC)
Mr Robin FALCONER
V.P. Oceania
NEW ZEALAND
Tel: <64> (4) 570 1444
E-mail: r.falconer@gns.cri.nz
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex III - page 4
International Tsunami Information Center
(ITIC)
Dr Laura KONG
Director, International Tsunami Information
Center (ITIC)
737 Bishop St., Suite 2200
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813-3213
USA
Tel: <1> (808) 532 6423
Fax: <1> (808) 532 5576
E-mail: laura.kong@noaa.gov
URL: http://www.prh.noaa.gov/itic/
Dr Rodrigo H. NUÑEZ
Associate Director ITIC
Head, Dept. of Oceanography
Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la
Armada de Chile
Errázuriz 232, Playa Ancha, Casilla 324
Valparaíso
CHILE
Tel: <56> (32) 266 670
Fax: <56> (32) 266 542
E-mail: rnunez@shoa.cl
URL: http://www.shoa.cl
(Also representing Chile)
IUGG Tsunami Commission
Dr Viacheslav GUSIAKOV
Head, Tsunami Laboratory
Institute of Computational Mathematics &
Mathlogical Geophysics
Lavrentieva, 6
Novosibirsk 630090
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Tel: <7> (3832) 34 20 70
Fax: <7> (3832) 34 37 83
E-mail: gvk@omzg.sscc.ru
III.
OBSERVERS
EL SALVADOR
Mr Carlos PULLINGER
Director, Servicio Geologico
Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales
Km.5 ½, Carretera a Nueva San Salvador,
Avenida Las Mercedes, frente a Círculo
Militar y continuo a Parque de Pelota
San Salvador
Tel: <503> 283 2246 47
Fax: <503> 223 7791
E-mail: cpullinger@mail.snet.gob.sv
NEW ZEALAND OBSERVERS
Mr John TITMUS
Emergency Management Advisor
Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency
Management
P.O. Box 5010
Wellington
Tel: <64> (9) 262 7830
Fax: <64> (4) 473 7369
E-mail: john.titmus@dia.govt.nz
Mr David COETZEE
Emergency Management Planner
Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency
Management
P.O. Box 5010
Wellington
Tel: <64> (4) 568 5244
Fax: <64> (4) 473 7369
E-mail: david.coetzee@dia.govt.nz
Mr John NORTON
Director, Ministry of Civil Defence &
Emergency Management
P.O. Box 5010
Wellington
Tel: <64> (4) 473 7363
Fax: <64> (4) 473 7369
E-mail: john.norton@dia.govt.nz
Ms Gaye L. DOWNES
Seismologist
Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences
Ltd.
P.O. Box 30-368, Lower Hutt
Tel: <64> 4 570 4827
Fax: <64> 4 570 1440
E-mail: g.downes@gns.cri.nz
Mr Peter WOOD
Emergency Management Planner
Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency
Management
33 Bowen Street, P.O. Box 5010
Wellington
Tel: <64> 4 473 7363
Fax: <64> 4 473 7369
E-mail: peter.wood@dia.govt.nz
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Mr Lawrence ANTON
Chief Seismologist
Geological Survey of PNG
PO Box 323, Port Moresby
Tel : <675> 3214500
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex III – page 5
Fax : <675> 321 3976
E-mail : pmgo@daltron.com.pg
IV.
IOC SECRETARIAT
Mr Peter PISSIERSSENS
Head, Ocean Services
1, rue Miollis
75015 Paris
FRANCE
Tel: <33> (1) 45 68 40 46
Fax: <33> (1) 45 68 58 12
E-mail: p.pissierssens@unesco.org
Mr Dimitri TRAVIN
Ocean Services
1, rue Miollis
75015 Paris
FRANCE
Tel: <33> (1) 45 68 40 44
Fax: <33> (1) 45 68 58 12
E-mail : d.travin@unesco.org
Mr Adrien VANNIER
Administration Assistant
Ocean Services
1, rue Miollis
75015 Paris
FRANCE
Tel: <33> (1) 45 68 39 63
Fax: <33> (1) 45 68 58 12
E-mail: a.vannier@unesco.org
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex IV
ANNEX IV
LIST OF DOCUMENTS
Working Documents
IOC/ITSU-XIX/1 prov.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/1 add.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
IOC/ITSU-XIX/4 prov.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/5 prov.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/6
IOC/ITSU-XIX/7
IOC/ITSU-XIX/8
IOC/ITSU-XIX/9
IOC/ITSU-XIX/10
IOC/ITSU-XIX/11
IOC/ITSU-XIX/12
IOC/ITSU-XIX/13
Title
Provisional Agenda
Provisional Timetable
Summary Report (prepared during the Session)
Provisional List of Documents (this Document)
Provisional List of Participants
Report of the Chairman of ICG/ITSU on Intersessional Activities
National Reports on Tsunami-related Activities
Report of the ITIC Director
Report of the PTWC Director
Progress Report of the ad hoc Working Group on International
Tsunami Signs and Symbols
Report on HTD/PAC
Report on the ICG/ITSU visiting experts and tsunami training
programme, 1974-2003
Cooperation with the IUGG Tsunami Commission
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex V
ANNEX V
ACTION SHEET – IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISIONS OF ITSU-XVIII
(As of September 2003)
Para. No.
26
41
47
49
53
55
56
57
Action
Responsible
3.1 Report of Chairman
Include updated version of ITSUTech. Sec.
XVII Action Sheet as Annex to
ITSU-XVIII Summary Report (SR)
3.2 National Reports
Tech. Sec.
Continue practice of making Nat.
Reports available to Member States
(MS) by mail, e-mail & on IOC
website
Use agreed formats for Nat. Reports MS
development
3.3 ITIC Director Report
Make ITSU-related publications
ITIC Assoc. Director
(mentioned in para. 46) available on
ITIC website in all IOC working
languages
Make Russian version of tsunami & ITIC Assoc. Director
earthquake textbooks & post to
users
Send modified figures of textbooks
ITSU Nat. Contact Russia
to ITIC Assoc. Director
Keep format of Tsunami Newsletter
publication as decided by ITSUXVII & bi-monthly periodicity
Publish 2 annual issues of Tsunami
Newsletter (2000 & 2001)
Deadline
Nov.‘01
Done
Done
Done
Mid ‘02
Done
First semester ‘02
Done
Dec.‘01
Done
ITIC Director
Done
ITIC Director
Include summaries of Nat. Reports
presented at ITSU-XVIII in 2001
issue
ITIC Director
Organize & support visit of ITIC
Assoc. Director to ITIC at earliest
convenience after nomination of
new ITIC Director
Develop joint ITIC Director/Assoc.
Director plan of action for 20022003
Provide ITIC with information on
warming & watches follow-up;
contribute to Tsunami Newsletter;
respond to correspondence from
ICG/ITSU Officers & IOC Sec.
Update list of ITSU Nat. Contacts,
mailing lists & send to MS & IOC
Secretariat
ITIC Director
Tech. Sec.
2001 in Jan.’02
2002 in Dec.’02
2000-2001 in Dec ‘03
2002-2003 in June ‘04
Jan.’02
ITIC will publish the
ITSU-XVIII national
reports in the 20002002 annual newsletter
First months of ‘02
Done
ITIC Director &
Assoc. Director
First months of ‘02
Done
MS
PTWC
Continuing
ITIC Assoc. Director
Feb.’02
Done
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex V - page 2
Para. No.
Action
Responsible
Deadline
4.1 Communication Plan & Overview of Warning System
61
Provide PTWC within few days
MS
Continuing
with information on what bulletins
& at what time they were received
63
Consider usage of Internet for
ITIC & PTWC Directors
Beginning ‘03
sending tsunami messages & report
Done
to ICG/ITSU Officers
4.2 Recent Technological Developments
67
Send travel data of amplitude
PTWC Director
Not completed
spectra of surface waves used to
compute Mm & Mw by e-mail for
all events of magnitude > 7.0 as
soon as data from 20 stations are
available
68
Include item on technological
Tech. Sec.
Jan.’03
development in ITSU-XIX Agenda
ICG/ITSU Chair
Done
5.1 Warning Climate Bulletins
Tech. Sec.
Dec.’01
71
Inform MS of ITSU-XVIII
decisions relevant to definition of
Done
ITSU Area of Responsibility
Tech. Sec.
Dec.’01
74
Announce changes relevant to
recommendations on procedures &
Not completed
criteria used for issuing warnings,
watches & cancellations adopted by
ITSU-XVIII
Co-ordinate applications of
PTWC Director
During ‘02
recommendations with WC/AIWA
Done
75
Report results of printing
PTWC Director
Oct.’03
recommendations in practice to
Done
ITSU-XIX
5.2 CD-ROM & Web Version of the Basic Pacific Tsunami Catalogue & Database
78
Further improvement of
HTDB/PAC Project Leader Continuing
HTDB/PAC in terms of data quality
Done
& completeness
78,80,179 Implement HTDB Training
HTDB/PAC Project Leader Second half ‘02
Workshop on its application &
Nat. Contact Chile
Done
improvement of content
ICG/ITSU Chair
Tech. Sec.
6. Training & Education
84
Consider declaring special time
Nat. Contacts in ICG/ITSU Intersessional
periods for awareness exercises.
MS
period Oct.03
Report experience to ITSU-XIX
Continuing
90
92
Incorporate knowledge of
phenomenon & hazard in general
national education programmes.
Report experience to ITSU-XIX.
Develop list of VEP trainers
containing their product work field
& plan of using former VEP
trainees to assist serving national &
regional problems
Include in VEP training programme
items on local or regional tsunami
threat
MS
Intersessional
period Oct.’03
Continuing
ITIC Director &
Assoc. Director
Second half ‘02
Done
ITIC Director
Mid ‘02
Done
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex V – page 3
Para. No.
93
95
97-98
99
100
103
105
106
107
108
Action
Organize training courses in 2002
for experts from Central America &
2002 for experts from countries (to
be identified later)
Provide ITIC & IOC Secretariat
with information on national
training activities & copies of
educational & awareness material
Study proposal on establishing
Group of Experts on tsunamis &
tsunami mitigation who will travel
& brief emergency managers on
hazard & methods of mitigation
Organize Workshop on local
tsunamis (PetropavlovskKamchatskii, Russia)
Explore interest of European &
Japanese funding agencies to
support Workshop
Assist Colombia & Ecuador in
developing national mitigation plans
by organizing expert mission to
these countries
Develop action plan of visit
Responsible
ITIC Director
Tech. Sec.
Done but no
candidatures received
from C. America
ITUS Nat. Contacts
Continuously
Continuing
ICG/ITSU Chair,
Officers
Jan.’03
Established at
ITSU-XIX
Nat. Contact Russia
Tech. Sec.
Aug-Sept.’02
Done
ICG/ITSU Chair
Nat. Contact Japan
First half ‘02
No result
Nat. Contacts Chile,
Colombia, Ecuador
Tech. Sec.
First quarter ‘02
Done
Nat. Contacts Chile,
Colombia, Ecuador
7.1 Tsunami Newsletter
Provide ITIC with articles & other
MS
publishing material for inclusion in
ITIC Director
Newsletter
Continue publication of Newsletter
ITIC Director
in hardcopy & electronic forms
Report experience to ICG/ITSU
ITIC Director
Officers Mtg. & ITSU-XIX
7.2 Tsunami Press Kit
Send editorial changes on textual
MS
part of Press Kit to IOC
Tech. Sec.
Complete work for multi-coloured
Tech. Sec.
publication of Press Kit
ICG/ITSU Officers
Consultant
Provide Tech. Sec. with revised list
of available websites
Provide Tech. Sec. with list of
publications for inclusion in Press
Kit
Publish loose-leaf Press Kit in
hardcopy & electronic forMs Chile
to help IOC in designing &
publishing Kit folders
Include in Press Kit, pages on
national activities
Deadline
Mid ’02 & ‘03
ITIC Assoc. Director
ICG/ITSU Chair
Officers
Feb.’02
Done
Done
‘02-‘03
Done
Jan.’03
Oct.’03
Done
Jan.’02
Done
Dec.‘02
Done (to be
published early
2005)
Jan.’02
Done
Jan.’02
Done
Tech. Sec.
Consultant
Nat. Contact Chile
Dec.’02
See 105
MS
Not done
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex V - page 4
Para. No.
110
111
112
113
116
117
118
119
121, 124
136
140
Action
Responsible
7.3 Tsunami Glossary
Review Spanish version & publish
Nat. Contacts Chile,
on ITIC website
Nicaragua, Colombia,
Mexico, Ecuador, Peru
ITIC Assoc. Director
Publish multi-coloured document in Nat. Contact Nicaragua
English & Spanish with IOC
Tech. Sec.
financial support (Contract
arrangements)
Translate into Russian & publish
Nat. Contact Russia
Russian version of Glossary
Provide Russia with all necessary
documentation for translation &
publication
ITIC Assoc. Director
Consider translation of Glossary
into French & inform Tech. Sec. of
results
Publish French version of Glossary
in multi-coloured form
Nat. Contacts Canada,
France
Consider supporting distribution of
Glossary by mail to MS in English
& Spanish
Deadline
Oct.’01
Ready to be
published
Jan.’02
Ready to be
published
Beginning ‘03
No action:
discussed at ITSUXIX
First quarter ‘02
No action:
discussed at ITSUXIX
Mid ‘02
Done
Nat. Contact France
End ‘02
Done
Tech. Sec.
First half ‘02
No action: will be
done after
publication
7.4 Tsunami Websites
Add to ITIC website an education
Nat. Contact Canada
category based on input provided by ITIC Assoc. Director
Canada
Send ITIC Assoc. Director
MS
information on national websites
related to tsunamis
Include this information in ITIC
ITIC Assoc. Director
website & add web page with link to
national sites
Include ITIC site in IOC Ocean
ITIC Assoc. Director
Portal URLs
8.1 Far East Tsunami Warning System (FE-TWS)
Nat. Contact Japan
Study ways of extending FE-TWS
responsibilities to Northwestern.
Pacific & report results to ITSUXIX
8.2 IAS Tsunami Warning System
Ad hoc Working Group
Modify IAS TWS project proposal
Chair
by addressing outstanding issues &
ICG/ITSU Chair
submit proposal in final form to
IOCARIBE Regional SubCommission
8.3 Other Regions
Report to European Commission the ICG/ITSU Chair
Group’s concern related to possible Tech. Sec.
termination of European-wide
Tsunami Programme within EU
First quarter ‘02
Done. Input provided
at ITSU-XIX
Continuously
No action
Continuously
No action
First quarter ‘02
Done
2002-2003
Oct.’03
Done. Discussed at
ITSU-XIX
31 Jan.’02
Done. Discussed at
ITSU-XIX
Oct-Nov.’01
(Lagos Mtg)
Done
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex V – page 5
Para. No.
142
143
145
157
161
161
164
169
171
176
177
Action
Responsible
activities
Assist in organizing meeting
Tech. Sec.
between Indonesia & Australia to
Nat. Contacts Indonesia,
establish co-operation in areas of
Australia
research & mitigation of tsunamis
Organize International Tsunami
ICG/ITSU Chair
Workshop in Indonesia to
IUGG/TC Chair
commemorate 120th anniversary of
Nat. Contact Indonesia
1883 Kiakatou eruption & tsunami
Tech. Sec.
ICG/ITSU Chair
Assist CEPREDENAC in
establishment of national & regional Nat. Contact Nicaragua
Tech. Sec.
TWS by sharing experience &
providing training
9.1 Co-operation with IUGG/TC
Report progress of ad hoc study
Ad hoc Study Group Chair
group on standard set of symbols &
signs & present results to ITSU-XIX
9.2 Post-IDNDR Developments
Improve links with ISDR Secretariat ICG/ITSU Chair
& develop specific work plan for
Tech. Sec.
collaboration with ISDR
Provide ISDR through IOC Exec.
ICG/ITSU Chair
Secretary with regular reports on
Group’s activities & system
development
Circulate reports on Group’s
Tech. Sec.
activities mentioned above to ITSU
Nat. Contacts
9.3 WDC-A, SEG
ICG/ITSU Chair
Explore possibility of launching
HTDB/PAC Project Leader
joint NGDC/NOAA-ICG/ITSUIUGG/TC product on development
of joint CD-ROM for Pacific
Tsunamis
9.4 Co-operation With Other Organizations
Organize exchange of information
ICG/ITSU Chair
between WAPMERR & ICG/ITSU
Tech. Sec.
& identify areas of common interest
ICG/ITSU Chair
Contact APEC & explore
willingness to conduct project on
‘Analysis of Economic Benefit of
Tsunami Warning Centres
Operations in provision of Tsunami
Warnings in APEC Region’. Report
progress to ITSU Officers Mtg.
10. Proposals For Future Projects
Support TROIKA proposal through MS
in-kind contributions to its
components
Nat. Contact Russia
Inform ITSU-XIX on progress in
implementation of proposal on
Spatial & Temporal Periodicity in
Pacific Tsunami Occurrence
Deadline
End ‘02
No action
Mid ‘03
Done
2002-2003
No action
Jan.’03
Oct.’03
Done
First half ‘02
Ongoing
Continuously
Ongoing
Continuously
No action
First half ‘02
Discussed at
ITSU-XIX: Done
First half ‘02
No action
‘02
Jan.’03
Done
Continuously
Done at ITSUXIX
Oct.’03
No action
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex V - page 6
Para. No.
178
179
181
Action
Responsible
Nat. Contact Russia
Inform ITSU-XIX on progress in
publication of series of scientific
popular books containing
information on earthquakes &
tsunamis
Nat. Contact Chile
Provide Russia with artwork of
earthquake & tsunami text books,
include captions in Russian &
publish on CD-ROM free of charge
to IOC
11.1 Evaluation of the Tsunami Programme
Establish ad hoc team of external
ICG/ITSU Chair &
experts to implement programme
Officers
evaluation
Tech. Sec.
Contact ISDR inviting them to join
ICG/ITSU Chair
evaluation process
Provide Team Leader with available
material related to evaluation
process
Complete evaluation process &
report to ITSU-XIX
185
188
190
192
193
194
195
Tech. Sec.
Evaluation Team Leader
12. Other Business
Formulate proposals for coEvaluation Team Leader
operation with private sector
13. Programme & Budget 2002-2003
Issue IOC Circular Letter informing Tech. Sec.
IOC MS on status of CL No. 1658’s
implementation
Provide financial direct & in-kind
MS
support to Tsunami Programme
Explore possibility of additional
Ocean Services Head
support to programme from TEMA
& regional activities implementation
14. Dates & Place for ITSU-XIX
Organize ITSU-XIX
ICG/ITSU Chair
Nat. Contact New Zealand
Tech. Sec.
Establish agreement between
Tech. Sec.
UNESCO & New Zealand on ITSU- Nat. Contact New Zealand
XIX implementation
Involve IOC/WESTPAC & SOPAC ICG/ITSU Chair
in invitation process for ITSU-XIX
Implement next ITSU Officers Mtg. ICG/ITSU Chair
Tech. Sec.
15. Adoption of Summary Report & Recommendations
Finalization & publication of ITSU- ICG/ITSU Officers
XVIII SR
Tech. Sec.
Development of Action Sheet based Tech. Sec.
on ITSU-XVIII decisions
Deadline
Oct.’03
Reported at ITSUXIX
Mid-‘02
Done
Jan.’02
Discussed at ITSUXIX
Jan.’02
Discussed at ITSUXIX
Feb.’02
Discussed at ITSUXIX
Mid-‘03
Oct.’03
Discussed at ITSUXIX
Mid-‘03
To be dealt with by
evaluators (see
181)
Dec.’01
Done: Circular Letter
No. 2019 was sent on
18 April 2002
Continuously
See above
Oct-Dec.’01
Done
Oct.’03
Done
Mid-‘03
Done
Mid-‘02
Done
Jan.’03
Done
Dec.‘01
Done
Nov-Dec.’01
Done
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex V – page 7
Para. No.
Action
Responsible
Deadline
Recommendation ITSU-XVIII.1 ‘Sea Level Enhancements’
Review existing sea-level gauges & MS
Continuously
availability to PTWC of data from
Reported at ITSUthese gauges
XIX
Continuously
Add or upgrade gauges as necessary MS
Reported at ITSUto achieve gauge spacing of at least
XIX
one gauge every 500 kms along
tsunami-prone coasts
MS
Continuously
Consider installing either island
Reported at ITSUgauges or deep ocean sensors, such
XIX
as DART buoys in areas seaward of
known tsunamigenic seismic zones
& also consider multi-use of
existing gauges
Include information on actions taken MS
Oct.’03
& progress achieved into national
Reported at ITSUreports fro ITSU-XVIII
XIX
Recommendation ITSU-XVIII.2 ‘WG on International Tsunami Signs & Symbols’
See para. 157
Recommendation ITSU-XVIII.3 ‘Programme of Work & Budget for 2002-2003’
MS
Support Tsunami Programme by
Continuously
contributing to IOC Trust Fund of
in-kind by covering operational
costs of maintaining Tsunami
Warning System
Make national authorities aware of
ITSU Nat. Contacts
Continuously
programme & benefits of disaster
reduction
Take measures for providing
Exec. Sec. IOC
Continuously
support to Tsunami Programme at
Tech. Sec.
level requested by Recommendation MS
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex VI
ANNEX VI
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WORKSHOPS
International Workshop “Local Tsunami Warning and Mitigation”, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy,
Russia, September 10–15, 2002
In response to the recommendations of the XVIII Session of UNESCO/IOC/ICG/ITSU, the
International Workshop “Local Tsunami Warning and Mitigation” was jointly organized by the IUGG
Tsunami Commission and the International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in
the Pacific of the UNESCO in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia, on September 10 - 15, 2002. P.P.
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and the Kamchatka
Seismological Department of Geophysical Service of the RAS led the Workshop as local organizers.
Destructive effects of many tsunamis are confined to the areas within one hour of the propagation time
(that is, within several hundred km of their source location). These tsunamis are classified as local, as
opposed to the regional and the Pacific-wide tsunamis whose destructive effects can be exposed well
outside (up to 10 thousand km) their area of origin. In all the main Pacific tsunamigenic regions, the
majority of tsunami-related casualties and property damage come from local tsunamis. A very short
travel time increases a local tsunami hazard. It is therefore an important challenge for the research
community and decision-makers to identify the ways for reducing losses of lives and property damage
from the local tsunamis. The main purpose of the Workshop was to consider the state-of-the-art of the
local tsunami problem and to discuss fundamental and applied studies directed at the reduction of a
local tsunami hazard.
As one of the most active seismic- and tsunami-prone areas in the Pacific, having a long history of
historical and paleo-tsunamis and complemented by interesting environmental features, Kamchatka
was an appropriate place for the international tsunami community members to discuss the local
tsunami problem. Additionally, the workshop was held in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of
the 1952 Great Kamchatka Earthquake and Tsunami. The magnitude 8.3 Kamchatka earthquake of
November 4, 1952 generated a catastrophic tsunami that killed more than two thousand people in the
Northern Kuriles. The town of Severo-Kurilsk (Paramushir Island) was completely destroyed. This
catastrophic event initiated the scientific study of the tsunami problem in Russia and resulted in the
creation of the Soviet Far East Tsunami Warning System at the end of the 50s.
Over 100 scientists (42 registered participants) from 12 countries (Bulgaria, Canada, France, French
Polynesia, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia, Turkey, the USA)
attended the Workshop. The Workshop programme and the submitted abstracts can be found at
http://oceanc47.phys.msu.su/.
The oral presentations made at the Workshop were grouped in the following topics:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1952 Kamchatka Earthquake and Tsunami,
Historical Catalogues and Databases,
Seismo-tectonics of Tsunami,
Numerical and Analytical Models of Local Tsunami Behavior,
Mitigation and Risk Assessment,
Tsunami Geology and Paleotsunamis,
Tsunami Measurement and Data Analysis,
Hydroacoustic Methods in Tsunami Research.
A special student session, that was unanimously recognized as of a high scientific quality by all the
workshop participants, was included in the Workshop programme to facilitate the participation of
young scientists.
The Workshop was followed by a one-day geological field excursion led by Dr J. Bourgeois and Dr T.
Pinegina. Participants were familiarized with paleotsunami methodology and field practice. At several
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex VI - page 2
coastal locations on the Khalatyrskiy Beach, 30 km northeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, the
geological traces of the 1737 and 1952 Kamchatka tsunamis were demonstrated.
Analysis of the state-of-the-art of the local tsunami problem made by the Workshop participants
testifies to the potential of a significant improvement for the forecast methodology and hazard
reduction. Based on the presented papers and follow-up discussions, the Workshop has made the
following recommendations as an approach to realizing this potential.
Databases
Comprehensive historical databases are one of the key elements of the local tsunami risk assessment
methodology. The existing tsunami databases supported by the Novosibirsk Tsunami Laboratory
(NTL) and the NGDC/NOAA can serve as a good basis for this work. Study of paleotsunami deposits
can provide a significant addition for historical database that can considerably extend its time
coverage. While nearly all historical events included in the published national, regional and Pacificwide catalogs have already been included in the databases, a wealth of less-known data still exists
locally. A lot of work is still needed for their search, parameterization and including in the databases.
People Education
Local tsunami has a very short travel time, therefore conventional tsunami warning procedures might
be ineffective. People living in vulnerable coastal areas should be well-informed about a potential
tsunamis hazard. Everybody should know how to act in the case of a strong earthquake or tsunami
warning. The Workshop strongly recommends to conduct public educational programs (involving
mass media), to publish informational booklets, etc.
Paleotsunami research
A destructive tsunami is rather a rare event at a given coastal location. To estimate the existing
tsunami hazard properly, a long-term observations are required. Geologic records of pre-historical
tsunamis can extend the historical and instrumental records to the recent past. They are also necessary
in filling historic records gaps, or in filling geographic gaps for known tsunamis. Paleotsunami data in
conjunction with numerical modeling can be useful for the tsunami sources identification.
Hydroacoustic methods in the local tsunami warning problem
Monitoring of the hydroacoustic signals emitted by the source area of impending underwater
earthquake allows localization of this area for some time (from several to tens of minutes) prior to the
main shock. This result testifies to the potential perspectives of hydroacoustic methods for the shorttime prediction of local tsunamis.
Tsunami generation mechanism
Several papers presented at the Workshop have clearly demonstrated that the submarine slumping can
play an important role in tsunami generation; nonlinear phenomena in a tsunami source can increase
the tsunami amplitude. The Workshop recommends further investigation of the tsunami generation
mechanism. The investigation should be directed at the development of the software tools for the
calculation of the initial conditions in the generation area allowing the submarine slumping and nonlinear phenomena for their further use in the tsunami propagation models.
High resolution bathymetry and topographic data
Quite often numerical modeling is the only way to determine the potential run-ups and to delineate the
inundation area from local tsunamis. For accurate modeling, detailed bathymetric and topographic data
are required. The Workshop recommends to continue efforts for collecting high-resolution bathymetric
and topographic data for the tsunami-prone areas available in different centers and institutions in a
single web-assessed database.
Preparation of collected volume “The 1952 Great Kamchatka Tsunami"
The 1952 Great Kamchatka Tsunami was one of the most destructive tsunamis in the last century. It
had a destructive effect in the South Kamchatka and North Kuriles and was widely observed all over
the Pacific. The publication of a special volume of papers containing all the earlier known and new
materials related to this event is of great importance for understanding of local tsunami behaviour,
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex VI – page 3
generation and propagation mechanism of trans-Pacific tsunamis and for improvement of their
warning and hazard mitigation.
Kamchatka Tsunami Warning Center
The Workshop recommends setting up in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatky the “Kamchatka Tsunami
Center” (KTC). Being one of the most active seismic- and tsunami-prone areas in the Pacific,
Kamchatka is an appropriate place for a scientific center to coordinate the tsunami research, to carry
out educational activity, etc. Using the scientific potential of the research centers and institutions
located in the Far-East region, the TCW could serve as Center of Excellence for the development of
new methods of tsunami prediction and mitigation and their implementation in the existing Tsunami
Warning System.
Acknowledgement
The participants wish to thank members of the Local Organizing Committee for the excellent
organization of the Workshop. Special thanks go to Mrs. Olga Yakovenko, whose tremendous efforts
made at every stage of the Workshop arrangement are highly appreciated. The Organizing Committee
is also grateful to Physics Faculty of M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University for supporting the
Workshop web-site.
The financial support for the Workshop obtained from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission of UNESCO, the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, the Russian Academy of
Sciences, and International Ocean Institute is greatly appreciated.
International Seminar/Workshop on Tsunami, “In Memoriam 120 years of Krakatau EruptionTsunami and Lesson Learned from Large Tsunami”, Jakarta and Anyer, Indonesia, 26-29 August
2003
On the occasion of the International Seminar/Workshop on Tsunami, “In Memoriam 120 years of
Krakatau Eruption-Tsunami and Lesson Learned from Large Tsunami”, held from August 26 to 29,
2003, in Jakarta and Anyer, Indonesia,
One hundred and twenty scientists, engineers, researchers, and public officials representing
geophysical, geological, oceanographic, and engineering disciplines, and seismological and
oceanographic monitoring and emergency management, public protection, and planning institutions,
universities, and other government agencies, from Indonesia and internationally from the USA,
Russia, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands,
As a Group gathered to review, exchange experiences, and elaborate upon tsunamis, tsunami warning
systems, tsunami impacts and responses to earthquake and tsunami affecting Indonesia, and ways in
which to effectively mitigate the tsunami hazard by identifying tsunami risk so as to save lives and
reduce property damage,
And afterward, having listened and discussed the aforementioned, the Group offers the following
Recommendations:
Recommendation I: Increasing tsunami hazard and risk awareness of people
Recognizing the importance of public awareness to tsunami hazards and the risks for those living in
the coastal areas, and mindful that human beings tend to forget rapidly,
Acknowledging that tsunami occurrences are rare, but can occur at any time and cause significant
damage and loss of life,
Noting the lessons learned from the tsunami occurrences in 1883 from the eruption of Krakatau, the
1992 Flores earthquake, the 1994 East Jawa earthquake, the 1996 Biak earthquake, and the 2000
Banggai earthquake,
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex VI - page 4
Firmly convinced that raising the awareness of public officials, emergency managers, policy makers,
professionals, school teachers, and coastal residents on tsunami, and providing education on ways in
which to reduce the tsunami’s impacts on coastal communities, will greatly reduce the risk of the
tsunami disaster,
Recommends the construction of community memorials, such as monuments, museums, and
informational signage, to remind each other and provide a means of passing tsunami information to
next generation,
Further recommends the preparation and publication of informational leaflets, pamphlets, and books
for the public and at-risk communities, and the dissemination of these appropriately in partnership
with the mass media so as to increase society’s awareness of and preparation for this natural hazard.
Recommendation II: Establishing Tsunami Warning System
Recognizing the main role of government institutions in providing early warnings on tsunami,
Aware that the tsunami monitoring system should consist of seismograph and tide gauge network that
are currently operated by several institutions,
Aware that tsunami warnings must be issued quickly and reliably to appropriate authorities in at-risk
coastal communities,
Strongly supports the initiation of a concerted effort among national and international institutions to
coordinate and cooperate in the provision of early warnings for regional tsunami,
Recommends the establishment of a National Tsunami Warning System based on existing national
seismic and sea level networks, real-time telemetry and automated data processing and evaluation, and
reliable methods of warning dissemination, taking into account the experience resulting from the
operation of existing regional and national tsunami warning systems in the Pacific. The system should
be designed so as to permit the future expansion of its Area of Responsibility to include tsunami
warnings to other parts of the Southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean (Philippines, Australia, New
Zealand, Papua New Guinea).
Recommendation III: Establishing guidelines to face and anticipate tsunami disasters
Recognizing the significant degree of disaster generated by tsunami,
Understanding the characteristics of the Indonesian community, especially those living in coastal areas
who do not wish to live far from their place for working,
Mindful that coastal areas are at risk from potentially destructive tsunamis,
Strongly urges the local government to implement countermeasures for protection against tsunami in
the forms of green belts, and sea walls or other concrete constructions, to reduce the impacts of
tsunamis,
Recommends the preparation of guidelines for disaster management in coastal areas.
Recommendation IV: Constructing Historical Tsunami Database
Recognizing the importance of historical data on tsunami occurrences as a manifestation for the
development of warning criteria and identification of areas at risk,
Mindful that numerous data exist within different government agencies and public institutions and that
they are not readily available and easily accessible,
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex VI – page 5
Recommends that comprehensive historical tsunami database be created in the format compatible with
internationally approved standards.
Recommendation V: Preparing Coastal Evacuation Maps
Aware that many residents may be unprepared to immediately evacuate low-lying coastal areas
following a tsunamigenic local earthquake,
Acknowledging that the key components of the tsunami mitigation programme, that is hazard
assessment, warning guidance, preparedness, must be highly interactive and well-coordinated to be
effective,
Recognizing that not all areas have the same risk of tsunami attacks,
Mindful that there is limitations of resources of the government as well as the community,
Strongly support the concerned government institutions to scale their priorities for mitigating the
tsunami disaster.
Recommends the undertaking of efforts to carry out inundation modeling studies and the preparation
of evacuation maps for all populated coastal areas threatened by local tsunamis, and to educate those
at-risk population about local tsunamis, the danger they pose, and the steps they must take to protect
their lives should one occur.
Further recommends the preparation of multi-hazards and micro-zonation maps which compile the
distribution of occurrences and potential impacts of all natural hazards in selected at-risk areas.
Acknowledgements
Appreciating the high fruitful discussion which took place during the seminar and the workshop,
grateful for the support of the UNSCO/IOC International Coordination Group for the Tsunami
Warning System in the Pacific and the IUGG – Tsunami Commission, and confident that the
Recommendations of the workshop will contribute to the improvement of safety against tsunami in
Indonesia and other countries.
Appreciating the great contributions from the Director, UNESCO/IOC International Tsunami
Information Center and the Outgoing Chair, IUGG – Tsunami Commission, in serving as information
resources and facilitation consultants on tsunami mitigation and tsunami warning systems.
Expresses heartfelt thanks to the Meteorological and Geophysical Agency, Ministry of Marine Affairs
and Fishery, and all others for their most thorough organization of the seminar and workshop and their
warm hospitality.
International Workshop "Tsunamis in the South Pacific", Wellington, New Zealand, 25-26
September 2003
The Workshop, Tsunamis in the South Pacific – Research towards Preparedness and Mitigation,
jointly convened by the IUGG Tsunami Commission and the International Coordination Group of the
Tsunami Warning System for the Pacific (ICG/ITSU), the Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences
(GNS) and the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), was held in
Wellington on 25-27 September 2003. Thirty one papers were presented orally, ranging from
overviews of regional vulnerability to tsunami, the Pacific historical tsunami record, Pacific-wide and
regional Tsunami Warning systems, and preparedness plans, as well as insights into public awareness
and preparedness in New Zealand and Washington, USA, tsunami modelling, paleotsunami research
in New Zealand and submarine landslide identification and tsunami generation potential. Eight
posters were also presented. A presentation was given by Dr Robin Falconer, Vice President Oceania,
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex VI - page 6
Circum-Pacific Council (CPC) and Chairman, CPC Tsunami Special Project, on CPC’s intention to
sponsor tsunami education/preparedness projects in the Pacific.
A two-hour interactive Panel Discussion was held on “Tsunami Warning Response to a M8.7 Chilean
Earthquake”. The discussion involved directors from Chilean, French Polynesian, Japanese, and
Pacific Tsunami Warning Centres, State or National Emergency Management officials from Hawaii
and Washington, USA, New Zealand and Australia, and Researchers from Washington, USA, and
New Zealand.
Eighty-six registrants from 18 countries attended the Workshop, many of the international delegates
also attending the ICG/ITSU XIX conference from 29 September – 3 October 2003. Five delegates
(Russia (2), El Salvador, USA, Colombia) were sponsored by the IOC, while the Circum-Pacific
Council sponsored four delegates from Ecuador, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Indonesia to attend both
the Workshop and ICG/ITSU conference. Locally, the Workshop was supported by the Earthquake
Commission, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Wellington City Council, the Royal Society of
New Zealand, the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, the Institute of Geological
& Nuclear Sciences, and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
The workshop concluded with the following recommendations.
Recommendation 1 (Historical data).
Despite the written histories of many areas in the SW Pacific being much shorter than in many other
areas of the Pacific, a wealth of historical data on tsunami occurrence and manifestation exists in many
governmental, institutional and historical archives. These data are scattered in numerous publications
and are not readily available. The workshop recommends continuing efforts to search for historical
data on regional and local levels, and to encourage their integration into the Pacific-wide historical
database.
Geological information on paleotsunamis can provide extremely important estimates of the long-term
tsunami risk for coastal locations where the historical record is short. Systematic paleotsunami
research in these areas should be encouraged and supported.
Systematic searches of recent sea level records for tsunami signals are further recommended to
improve our knowledge of the areas at risk. These data should be saved and copies sent to the ITIC for
archiving.
Recommendation 2 (Regional TWS for SW Pacific and Indian Ocean).
Taking into account the very recent decision of Indonesia to start the creation of the National Tsunami
Warning System, the Workshop recommends that Indonesia and other countries of the South-West
Pacific proceed in the development of the Regional Tsunami Warning System for the SW Pacific and
Indian Ocean with reference to the ITSU Master Plan for Further Development of the Pacific Tsunami
Warning System. This will benefit not only countries of the region but will also enhance the ability of
the PTWC to locate smaller earthquakes in this area and to assess their tsunami threat.
Recommendation 3 (Deep-water tsunami observations)
In many presentations and discussions during the Workshop, the importance of the deep ocean
tsunami measurements for evaluation of the tsunami threat and prediction of tsunami heights at the
coast was highlighted. The Workshop recommends that every opportunity should be used to further
expand the network of deep-water instruments and to integrate the data into the operations of the
PTWC. Development of methods for the interpretation of these data should be encouraged.
Recommendation 4 (Availability of sea level data for operational warning)
Taking into account the recent considerable improvements in the sea level networks in New Zealand,
the Workshop recommends increasing the use, through the Internet, of the real time or near-real time
sea level data from New Zealand stations and other areas in the South Pacific, for use by PTWC and
for access by the scientific community.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex VI – page 7
Recommendation 5 (Technical Report on the Panel Discussion)
The panel discussion on the responses of warning centers and emergency agencies to the issuance of
tsunami warning messages for a major M8.7 earthquake off the northern Chile coast was very useful
and productive. The Workshop recommends that the records of this panel discussion be converted into
a Technical Report by GNS and NIWA, in collaboration with ITIC.
Recommendation 6 (Far-Field Tsunami Workshop in 2004)
Pacific-wide tsunami are rare in the practice of the TWS operations in the Pacific. However, the risk
of failure of prediction as well as the cost of false alarm is very high due to the large number of
countries and territories put into a warning status. The Workshop recommends a special ITSU
workshop to discuss issues related to Pacific-wide TWS operations. The workshop is recommended
for 2004, possibly in October, in conjunction with the VIII Earth Science Congress in Santiago, Chile.
Recommendation 7 (Public Education and Awareness)
Workshop participants recommend developing and maintaining archives of tsunami public education
and emergency management products for sharing and international consultation. It is further
recommended that ITIC be consulted to facilitate an international archive of these products.
Thanks to Local Organizers
The participants of the Workshop wish to express their sincere thanks to the local organizers
(Gaye Downes, Roy Walters, Ursula Cochran, Neville Ching, Mauri McSaveney, Peter Wood) for
their excellent organization and conducting of the Workshop.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex VII
ANNEX VII
REVISED CONCLUSIONS OF THE ITSU MASTER PLAN
Although a significant amount of progress has been made in recent years to improve the Tsunami
Warning System in the Pacific, much still remains to be done to effectively mitigate the hazard posed
by local and distant tsunamis in all parts of the Pacific Basin. Areas for work that are especially
important for improving the TWSP and should receive the highest priority for action by ITSU in the
coming years are the following:
• Runup Maps - Use numerical model and historical data to create potential runup maps as the basis
for hazard assessment, for evacuation maps and plans, and to motivate other key mitigation activities
on the local level including public education, land use planning, and engineering efforts.
• Tsunami Education - Continue to develop educational materials and programs that will improve
tsunami awareness and education among the public, warning center operators, emergency managers,
and policy makers.
• Warning Centers - Establish new regional warning centers for the local tsunami threat in areas
without coverage, and develop technologies and methodologies to improve the speed, accuracy, and
reliability of all tsunami warning centers.
• Water Level Instrumentation - Improve the strategic coverage of water level instruments and the
quality of signals they record for both warning and research purposes.
• Historical Data - Put historical data into a common database format, and develop tools that make
those data readily available to persons and offices that need them in the mitigation and research
communities.
• New Tsunamis - Collect and archive all water level gauge data as well as runup and inundation
measurements following each tsunami.
• Communications - Keep abreast of new communications systems that may be more effective for
warning center and other purposes, and adopt them for use in the TWSP as appropriate.
• Research - Encourage and support research on tsunamis and tsunami-related topics that will leads to
improvements in mitigation.
• Tsunami mitigation – Support disaster mitigation activities of relevant response managers through
active participation in local, regional and national disaster planning and targeted educational
material
• Capacity building – Establish or strengthen and further develop regional and local tsunami-related
expertise, skills and capabilities through development or promotion of training and exchange
programs, internet based learning, and formal technical or scientific courses.
The components of the tsunami mitigation plan - hazard assessment, warning guidance, response, and
research - must be highly interactive and well coordinated to be effective. ITSU, as a coordinating
body of scientists, emergency managers, emergency planners, and warning center operators, with
representatives from each affected nation, is well designed to successfully implement this plan.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex VIII
ANNEX VIII
SPEECHES
A:
Welcome Speech of the Chairman ICG/ITSU, François Schindele
Mr John Norton, Director of Civil Defense in New Zealand,
Mr Peter Pissierssens, Representative of IOC/UNESCO,
Distinguished Delegates of Member States
Ladies & Gentlemen,
It is an honour & a great pleasure to open the Nineteenth Session of the International Co-ordination
Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, as Chairman of this Group.
On behalf of the Group I express my thanks to the Government of New Zealand to have hosted this
session in your nice country & for your welcome address. From the 25 Member States of ITSU, 15 are
attending this meeting, Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Republic of Korea, Ecuador, Fiji, France,
Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Peru, Russian Federation & USA.
Two other countries are attending this Session as observers: El Salvador & Papua New Guinea.
This is the first time that so many countries are attending the ITSU Session & I thank all the delegates
for coming & in their effort to participate.
Since 1965, the ITSU Group met every 2 years in a different country. This gives the opportunity to the
Member States to visit the facilities & to have a look in the country of the host, of the tsunami hazard.
The critical issue of our Group is the continuous improvement of the Tsunami Warning System in the
Pacific taking into account:
the knowledge of the tsunami hazard;
the recent & continuous progress in science & technology to assess the tsunami risk & to
mitigate it;
the mitigation becomes more & more critical due to the increase of population living close & on
the coast where the tsunami hazard is the highest.
This Session gives the opportunity to Member States to report on the progress made, but also the
difficulties they had to implement a tsunami mitigation programme & to express their point of view of
what must be done to achieve a better & more effective system.
Two bodies are very important for the Group:
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii, that is the headquarters of the Tsunami
Warning System, & the International Tsunami Information Center that give the information on
TWS, how to implement such a system, gather & distribute knowledge on tsunamis, & so on.
During all of this week, we will review the progress made since the last ITSU Session 2 years ago.
One of the important issues is the enhancement of the sea level network & I know that several
countries have improved theirs, then we must decide what must be done during the next 2 years to
achieve a very significant level of expertise & efficiency.
I ask all delegates to participate actively in all discussions during the Session. Your capability to
involve the new Member States, observers & bring them all the knowledge we have on the tsunami
hazard assessment & mitigation is crucial. More countries active in our group will improve the quality
& efficiency of the TWSP.
The very recent case last week of the Japanese earthquake & tsunami confirm that we are well
prepared to fight it, but do not forget that since 1964, no wide Pacific Tsunami has threatened all
the coasts of the region.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex VIII - page 2
Finally, I want to thank the local Organizing Committee, especially Mike O’Leary, for the hard &
excellent work done during the last year to organize this Session in such nice facilities.
I wish everybody an excellent & productive session.
Thank you for your attention
B:
New Zealand Director of Civil Defence – Welcome to the Attendees of ITSU XIX
Welcome
Kia ora. Tena kotu katoa
New Zealand is very happy to welcome the delegates to the 19th Session of the International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific (ITSU). We are aware that the
majority of attendees are from the 25 signatory countries and are visitors to New Zealand. To our
international guests, welcome to New Zealand and especially welcome to Wellington.
New Zealand is aware that the ITSU programme operates under UNESCO and specifically under the
auspices of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). We are very pleased to be able
to assist with the organization and operation of the Warning System in conjunction with IOC.
It has been traditional that the biennial meetings of ITSU are preceded by an international conference.
During the organization stages of the ITSU Session we were delighted that the Institute of Geological
and Nuclear Sciences (GNS) and the National Institute of Water and Atmospherics (NIWA) accepted
an invitation fro ITSU and IUGG to stage a Workshop preceding this ITSU Session. The Workshop
was titled “Tsunami in the South Pacific – Research towards Preparedness and Mitigation.”
.
In New Zealand we are in a very dynamic stage in the development of our capability to manage
emergencies.
Late last year the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act came into effect and the whole sector is
moving rapidly to implement the arrangements required by the legislation. There is considerable
energy, commitment and progress in the sector that will result in New Zealand being significantly
better prepared for dealing with emergencies.
One of the requirements of that legislation is for regional Civil Defence Emergency Management
Groups to identify the hazards and risks their regions face and then address them on a priority basis.
Due to the location and shape of New Zealand virtually every area is vulnerable to some aspects of
tsunami.
New Zealand’s location in the South Pacific, our straddling of two major plate boundaries and our
active volcanic zones make us particularly vulnerable to tsunami. This includes those that travel
across the Pacific as well as those that are generated closer to home. I am aware that there are
numerous initiatives to add to our level of understanding in both of these areas and sessions such as
this are vital for sharing and disseminating that knowledge.
In relation to far field tsunami we are almost completely reliant on the services provided by the Pacific
Tsunami Warning Centre for early warning and detailed information on the nature and size of any
potential tsunami. The information coming from PTWC is an integral part of New Zealand’s National
Warning System and we are very keen to support ITSU in as many ways as possible. That includes
the earlier Tsunami Workshop and the ITSU XIX Session this week.
Tsunami is not a common hazard in New Zealand but we do have some regional and national
examples in our history. The focus of ITSU on tsunami warning, hazard and risk assessment and
mitigation actions fits well with the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management’s role in
New Zealand. Our role is to;
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex VIII – page 3
•
•
•
Define our hazards
Understand the nature of the hazard
Understand what has to be done to manage the risk and the consequences.
New Zealand manages the risks and consequences of a 4R’s basis (Reduction, Readiness, Response
and Recovery). We are also required as a result of our new legislation to have a new National Civil
Defence Emergency Management Plan developed within three years. We are currently consulting
various aspects of this with our communities at the moment.
So again welcome to New Zealand and we hope you have a very successful Session.
Mr John Norton
Director of Civil Defence
Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management.
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex IX
ANNEX IX
LIST OF ACRONYMS
ATAS
ATWC
BMG
BOM
CEPREDENAC
CGPS
CICESE
CPC
CTBTO
DART
DKP
EMA
EMSC
ENSO
GA
GHTD
GLOSS
GNS
GOOS
HIDRONAV
HTDB
ICG/ITSU
IDB
IGOOS
IMGEP
INOCAR
IOC
IOCARIBE
IODE
IPCC
ISDR
ISO
ITIC
IUGG
JCOMM
JISNET
JMA
KMA
MCDEM
MRD
NEIS
NIWA
NOAA
NTC
NTFA
NTHMP
NTL
NWS
OPA
PTWC
Australian Tsunami Alert Service
Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre
Meteorological and Geophysical Agency (Indonesia)
Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)
Co-ordination Center for the Prevention of Natural Disasters in Central
America
Continuous GPS
Centro de Investigacion Cientifica y de Educacion Superior de Ensenda
(Mexico)
Circum-Pacific Council
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization
Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis
Department of Marine Affairs & Fishery (Indonesia)
Emergency Management Australia
European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre
El Nino Southern Oscillation
Geoscience Australia
Global Historical Tsunami Database
Global Sea-Level Observing System
Geological and Nuclear Sciences
Global Ocean Observing System (IOC)
Dirección de Hidrografía y Navegación (Peru)
Historical Tsunami Data Base
International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the
Pacific
Islamic Development Bank (Indonesia)
Intergovernmental Committee for GOOS
Improvement of Meteorological & Geophysical Equipment Project
Instituto Oceanográfico de la Armada (Ecuador)
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
IOC Sub-Commission for the Caribbean & Adjacent Regions
International Oceanographic Data & Information Exchange
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
International Organization for Standardization
International Tsunami Information Center
International Union of Geodesy & Geophysics
Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography & Marine Meteorology
Japan – Indonesia Seismic Network
Japan Meteorological Agency
Korea Meteorological Agency
Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management (New Zealand)
Mineral Resources Department (Fiji)
National Earthquake Information System
National Institute of Water & Atmospherics
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (USA)
National Tidal Centre (Australia)
National Tidal Facility Australia
National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Programme (USA)
Novosibirsk Tsunami Laboratory (Russia)
National Weather Service (SA)
Open Programme Areas
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
IOC/ITSU-XIX/3
Annex IX - page 2
SHOA
SNAM
SOPAC
TEMA
TIK
TWSP
VEP
WDC/NGDC
WMO
WWTD
Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada (Chile)
Sistema Nacional de Alerta de Maremotos
South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission
Training, Education & Mutual Assistance (IOC)
Tsunami Information Kit
Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific
Visiting Experts Programme
World Data Center/ National Geophysical Data Center
World Meteorological Organization
World Wide Tsunami Database
In this Series
Languages
Reports of Governing and Major Subsidiary Bodies, which was initiated at the beginning of 1984,
the reports of the following meetings have already been issued:
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Eleventh Session of the Working Committee on international Oceanographic Data Exchange
Seventeenth Session of the Executive Council
Fourth Session of the Working Committee for Training, Education and Mutual Assistance
Fifth Session of the Working Committee for the Global Investigation of Pollution in the Marine Environment
First Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions
Third Session of the ad hoc Task team to Study the Implications, for the Commission, of the UN Convention on the
Law of the Sea and the New Ocean Regime
First Session of the Programme Group on Ocean Processes and Climate
Eighteenth Session of the Executive Council
Thirteenth Session of the Assembly
Tenth Session of the International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific
Nineteenth Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1986
Sixth Session of the IOC Scientific Committee for the Global Investigation of Pollution in the Marine Environment
Twelfth Session of the IOC Working Committee on International Oceanographic Data Exchange
Second Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions, Havana, 1986
First Session of the IOC Regional Committee for the Central Eastern Atlantic, Praia, 1987
Second Session of the IOC Programme Group on Ocean Processes and Climate
Twentieth Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1987
Fourteenth Session of the Assembly, Paris, 1987
Fifth Session of the IOC Regional Committee for the Southern Ocean
Eleventh Session of the International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, Beijing,
1987
Second Session of the IOC Regional Committee for the Co-operative Investigation in the North and Central Western
Indian Ocean, Arusha, 1987
Fourth Session of the IOC Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, Bangkok, 1987
Twenty-first Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1988
Twenty-second Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1989
Fifteenth Session of the Assembly, Paris, 1989
Third Session of the IOC Committee on Ocean Processes and Climate, Paris, 1989
Twelfth Session of the International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, Novosibirski,
1989
Third Session of the Sub-Commission for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions, Caracas, 1989
First Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific, Hangzhou, 1990
Fifth Session of the IOC Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, Hangzhou, 1990
Twenty-third Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1990
Thirteenth Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange, New York,
1990
Seventh Session of the IOC Committee for the Global Investigation of Pollution in the Marine Environment, Paris, 1991
Fifth Session of the IOC Committee for Training, Education and Mutual Assistance in Marine Sciences, Paris, 1991
Fourth Session of the IOC Committee on Ocean Processes and Climate, Paris, 1991
Twenty-fourth Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1991
Sixteenth Session of the Assembly, Paris, 1991
Thirteenth Session of the International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, Baja
California, 1991
Second Session of the IOC-WMO Intergovernmental WOCE Panel, Paris, 1992
Twenty-fifth Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1992
Fifth Session of the IOC Committee on Ocean Processes and Climate, Paris, 1992
Second Session of the IOC Regional Committee for the Central Eastern Atlantic, Lagos, 1990
First Session of the Joint IOC-UNEP Intergovernmental Panel for the Global Investigation of Pollution in the Marine
Environment, Paris, 1992
First Session of the IOC-FAO Intergovernmental Panel on Harmful Algal Blooms, Paris, 1992
Fourteenth Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange, Paris,
1992
Third Session of the IOC Regional Committee for the Co-operative Investigation in the North and Central Western
Indian Ocean, Vascoas, 1992
Second Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific, Bangkok, 1993
Fourth Session of the IOC Sub-Cornmission for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions, Veracruz, 1992
Third Session of the IOC Regional Committee for the Central Eastern Atlantic, Dakar, 1993
First Session of the IOC Committee for the Global Ocean Observing System, Paris, 1993
Twenty-sixth Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1993
Seventeenth Session of the Assembly, Paris, 1993
Fourteenth Session of the International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, Tokyo,
1993
Second Session of the IOC-FAO Intergovernmental Panel on Harmful Algal Blooms, Paris, 1993
Twenty-seventh Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1994
First Planning Session of the IOC-WMO-UNEP Committee for the Global Ocean Observing System, Melbourne, 1994
Eighth Session of the IOC-UNEP-IMO Committee for the Global Investigation of Pollution in the Marine Environment,
San José, Costa Rica, 1994
Twenty-eighth Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1995
Eighteenth Session of the Assembly, Paris, 1995
Second Session of the IOC-WMO-UNEP Committee for the Global Ocean Observing System, Paris, 1995
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Third Session of the IOC-WMO Intergovernmental WOCE Panel, Paris, 1995
Fifteenth Session of the International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, Papetee,
1995
Third Session of the IOC-FAO Intergovernmental Panel on Harmful Algal Blooms, Paris, 1995
Fifteenth Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange
Second Planning Session of the IOC-WMO-UNEP Committee for the Global Ocean Observing System, Paris, 1995
Third Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific, Tokyo, 1996
Fifth Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions, Christ Church, 1995
Intergovernmental Meeting on the IOC Black Sea Regional Programme in Marine Sciences and Services
Fourth Session of the IOC Regional Committee for the Central Eastern Atlantic, Las Palmas, 1995
Twenty-ninth Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1996
Sixth Session for the IOC Regional Committee for the Southern Ocean and the First Southern R Ocean Forum,
Bremerhaven, 1996
IOC Black Sea Regional Committee, First Session, Varna, 1996
IOC Regional Committee for the Co-operative Investigation in the North and Central Western Indian Ocean, Fourth
Session, Mombasa, 1997
Nineteenth Session of the Assembly, Paris, 1997
Third Session of the IOC-WMO-UNEP Committee for the Global Ocean Observing System, Paris, 1997
Thirtieth Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1997
Second Session of the IOC Regional Committee for the Central Indian Ocean, Goa, 1996
Sixteenth Session of the International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, Lima,
1997
Thirty-first Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1998
Thirty-second Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 1999
Second Session of the IOC Black Sea Regional Committee, Istanbul, 1999
Twentieth Session of the Assembly, Paris, 1999
Fourth Session of the IOC-WMO-UNEP Committee for the Global Ocean Observing System, Paris, 1999
Seventeenth Session of the International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, Seoul,
1999
Fourth Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific, Seoul, 1999
Thirty-third Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 2000
Thirty-fourth Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 2001
Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 2001
Sixth Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions, San José, 1999
Twenty-first Session of the Assembly, Paris, 2002
Thirty-fifth Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 2001
Sixteenth Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange, Lisbon,
2000
Eighteenth Session of the International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific,
Cartagena, 2001
Fifth Session of the IOC-WMO-UNEP Committee for the Global Ocean Observing System, Paris, 2001
Seventh Session of the IOC Sub-commission for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (IOCARIBE), Mexico, 2002
Fifth Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific, Australia, 2002
Thirty-sixth Session of the Executive Council, Paris, 2003
Twenty-second Session of the Assembly, Paris, 2003
Fifth Session of the IOC Regional Committee for the Co-operative Investigation in the North and Central Western
Indian Ocean, Kenya, 2002 (* Executive Summary available separately in E, F, S & R)
Sixth Session of the IOC Intergovernmental Panel on Harmful Algal Blooms, St. Petersburg (USA), 2002
(* Executive Summary available separately in E, F, S & R)
Seventeenth Session of the IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange, Paris,
2003 (* Executive Summary available separately in E, F, S & R)
Sixth Session of the IOC-WMO-UNEP Committee for the Global Ocean Observing System, Paris, 2003
(* Executive Summary available separately in E, F, S & R)
Nineteenth Session of the International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific,
Wellington, New Zealand, 2003 (* Executive Summary available separately in E, F, S & R)
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